Student gov't leaders ponder how to get their message out

For the first time last night, all six branches of student government came together to brainstorm ways to better represent the Penn undergraduate community.

The "Student Government Meet and Greet" drew about 50 student leaders to Logan Hall to learn about the other branches of student government and discuss ways to educate the student body about their missions.

A recent Daily Pennsylvanian survey, where not one freshman candidate for the Undergraduate Assembly successfully passed a pop quiz on student government and the University, inspired Student Activities Council Chairwoman LaToya Baldwin to start planning the event.

"The point of the night is not simply to get to know each other socially, but to educate one another so that we can be more effective in answering student needs and be more accountable," said Nominations and Elections Committee Vice President of Publicity Rochelle Behrens, a College sophomore.

The campus leaders divided into small groups to tackle how student government can better educate both itself and the general student body on the role of different branches.

Each group ran into the same problem, saying most students at Penn feel little connection to their government, and, more troubling, don't seem to care.

For years, the school's leaders have struggled against what they identify as a general ignorance and apathy among the student body, which they believe leads students to see their government as useless.

"Most students manage to get through here without knowing what they do," College senior Tim Demorest said.

But while student leaders identify the problem, they aren't sure about the solution. The UA uses e-mail to inform students of its work, but many students say they delete the e-mails without opening them.

The leaders came up with lists of suggestions, including communicating with the DP, postering, standing out on the walk and massive publicity campaigns.

UA Chairwoman Dana Hork, a College senior, said students must be convinced that student government is relevant to them and that they should take an active role.

"There's a failure on both sides," said Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairwoman Lindsey Mathews, a College senior. "There's a general apathy on the part of the student body and when the different branches of student government reach out to the student body, we're met with that apathy."

The focus group conversations moved beyond apathy to discuss the general sense of many students that minorities are under-represented in student government.

Some UA members said their racial makeup actually has a higher minority representation than is reflected in the student body, but representatives from the Black Student League and UMOJA said the issue was not in numbers, but that they felt minority issues are not often addressed.

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