The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

Council opens with streamlined committees

Student Council opened its legislative season last night with a new committee structure designed to streamline its administration and give students more access to student government.

Beginning last year, then Council chief of staff and current President Noah Sullivan began formulating a plan to cut down the number of smaller committees in favor of larger ones that deal with broader issues.

"When I was chief of staff, I thought there were too many committees working in too many directions," Sullivan said. "The committees that were most effective were those that addressed larger issues like legislative affairs."

The new Student Life Committee, for example, addresses concerns previously covered by a number of smaller committees, including parking, housing, dining and student services.

Former College Rep. Darius Nabors chairs the committee.

"I think we are going to be more efficient than in the past because we'll have fewer but better attended meetings," he said. "Because it is difficult to find students who are interested in really specific topics like dining, having a committee with broader responsibilities will help us get more student input from a lot of different sources. Of course, this will be a real administrative challenge for the committee chairs."

Buildings and Grounds Committee co-Chair Alfred Griffin said the formation of his committee will help students address their concerns about the future of the University's numerous building projects.

"The restructuring is awesome," Griffin said. "It's great that Council has created a committee that consolidates a lot of the complicated issues that are involved with our buildings and Grounds. We are currently in the process of forming a lot of specialized sub-committees and recruiting students."

According to Sullivan, the new structure should change the way committees operate.

"In the past, committees were focused on programming and events," Sullivan said. "The hope is that these committees will be able to take initiatives of their own from an advocacy standpoint. They will be action-oriented and policy-driven."

Local Savings

Puzzles
Hoos Spelling

Latest Podcast

Since the Contemplative Commons opening April 4, the building has hosted events for the University community. Sam Cole, Commons’ Assistant Director of Student Engagement, discusses how the Contemplative Sciences Center is molding itself to meet students’ needs and provide a wide range of opportunities for students to discover contemplative practices that can help them thrive at the University.