After a campaign season filled with promises of improved internal efficiency and increased outreach, Student Council is considering the creation of a new Membership Committee that would foster a more open environment within Council and create a sense of community among members.
Though specific projects or causes can connect committee members to Council more broadly, those moments can be fleeting, said Council President Eric McDaniel, a third-year College student. As a result, turnover among representatives is very high, McDaniel said.
“This membership committee is a new concept but the idea behind it is not,” McDaniel said. “The idea is to make sure everyone on Council knows each other, so internal collaboration and dialogue can be systematized to collectively serve students.”
Second-year undergraduate Batten student Megan Mohr was named head of the committee, but the details have not been finalized about the committee’s size or scope. Council will discuss any amendments to the proposal at its meeting next week.
The new committee, if approved, will fall under the domain of the vice president for administration, currently third-year College student Annie Ungrady. Both Ungrady and Chief of Cabinet Jessie Cappello, a third-year College student, are working out the specifics of the committee.
“The motto for this committee is that we want everyone to be ‘on the same page,‘” Ungrady said.
McDaniel said this committee is an important part of bringing Council members together.
“[The idea] is still abstract, and that is okay, because the lack of communication on Council is a long-standing problem,” McDaniel said. “This may not be the correct way to address it, but … we are for once addressing it and trying to see how we can fix it. Instead of ‘I’m on this committee,’ it should be, ‘I’m on Student Council.’”
Council also unanimously approved the Summer Budget Tuesday evening, which includes an allocation for a summer retreat for committee members to work on building a greater sense of community.
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