OUR VIEW: One mass e-mail can go a long way

The other day, while checking e-mail for stories and hate mail from angry students over the smoking ban, we at The Statesman saw something we had never seen before – a mass e-mail from Peter McChesney, ASUSU president. Upon opening the e-mail, we were greeted with a sizable e-mail explaining to the student body what progress had been made with the tax-free textbooks and how ASUSU had been a major contributor in making that happen. The e-mail was very upbeat and informative, giving students a chance to hear from their student body president in about as direct a way possible. After elections in early March, it seems the ASUSU president is only seen in brief glances, and rarely heard from. This is mostly because the ASUSU president is busy and can’t possibly regularly interact with all students. However, it is nice to hear from our elected representatives every once in a while. The tax-free textbooks was a success for ASUSU and should be reported on, and it was, by The Statesman, the Herald Journal and the Salt Lake Tribune. Students had plenty of opportunities to read about this, and likely, the mass e-mail was not the first time students heard about tax-free textbooks. So, if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, why go to the trouble of doing it? Because students need to hear from their student government representatives. They need to know what’s going on. We applaud ASUSU for taking this step, as it is something we have vied for. While reading through the e-mail, we thought about how valuable this tool could be to the student body. Now, knowing they have the ability to send school-wide mass e-mails, we would like to see this utilized in other ways. For instance, ASUSU holds weekly meetings, with the Academic Senate meeting on Monday and the Executive Council meeting on Tuesday. These are inherently open meetings to the public, meaning students have the right to attend and listen. This is likely common knowledge, but what time these meetings take place, how long the meetings usually last and what topics will be discussed aren’t common knowledge. Even we, who have regular interactions with ASUSU, only have a vague idea about what will be discussed and about upcoming legislation. Instead of this ambiguity, ASUSU should utilize the mass e-mail tool and send out weekly alerts to the student body. These e-mails could contain brief information about meeting times and locations, and some brief information about upcoming legislation to be discussed. This would not take very long. In a couple hundred words or less, students could be informed beforehand about what is going on. Often, the first time students hear about legislation is after it has been passed. The time for constructive criticism and development has then passed, and students have lost their ability to have their voice heard. By alerting students beforehand, a better dialog can be opened between student government and its constituents, which will benefit all students on campus. So give it a try. What do you have to lose? Our inboxes are waiting.