Student senate and student government associations create an ongoing avenue for advocacy regarding policies and student activities — and the funding they require — so long as leaders, faculty and staff support these groups and ensure they are not just ceremonial bodies.
This requires managing conflicts and smaller differences of opinion, providing leadership training in some form for the students who participate, and finding ways for the diverse panoply of community college students — including those who attend part-time — to participate in leadership roles.
This excerpt comes from the current issue of the Community College Journal, published by the American Association of Community Colleges.
For example, at Wisconsin’s Madison Area Technical College, college leaders, faculty and staff “give students the tools and training to make a change for their peers, and include them in important conversations from the beginning, not as an afterthought,” says Ellie Rome, director of student life, who believes it’s important to include students in meaningful ways, such as having designated student seats on shared governance and other campus-wide committees.
“Each member of the president’s cabinet attends student senate meetings once each semester to show students that they care, and to hear from the student senate about the issues that are important to them,” she says.
Direct input
Kai Lin Brito, student senate president, says the model of shared governance at Madison College allows students to be put on work groups with administrators and faculty.
“They understand that we’re students, and we get a say in how things move, and get to be a part of the process,” he says.
However, students are not currently part of hiring committees, and Brito thinks they should be.
Annette Crowder, Madison College’s ambassador to the Wisconsin Technical College System and Black Student Union campus president, agrees that students at least should be able to pose questions to potential hires.
“Inclusion and representation are extremely important,” she says. “I also believe in building relationships between administration and students. It’s nice to walk down the halls and have someone acknowledge you, even if it’s just a head-nod, and listen to you. That’s how people get more comfortable and become more of a student leader.”
Using data for advocacy
South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington, takes a “multimodal approach” to engaging with students and ensuring that their voices are heard, says Jen Manley, dean of student engagement and retention. The student senate gathers feedback and uses that as an advocacy mechanism in collaborating with college leadership to meet student needs, she says, “whether that be reporting on behalf of students to the board of trustees, or serving as representatives to the instructional council, or the president’s advisory group, or the diversity and equity committee.”
Since Covid began, the student senate has distributed surveys to their fellow students on a quarterly basis, says Electra Gupton, director of student life at South Puget Sound.
The data are brought back to executive leadership, and among the recent changes to result have been longer tutoring hours with more hybrid options available and funding to expand coffee-shop hours to provide food later into the afternoon for students.
Student government association members at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), part of the City University of New York, hold positions on major decision-making bodies at the school, such as the academic senate, college council and early childhood board, says Marva Craig, vice president for student affairs.
“This ensures that the students’ voices are represented in meaningful discussions,” she says. “We have what are called club hours, Wednesdays from 2 to 4, when no classes are held. Therefore, there are no conflicts, so students can attend. We give them a space and a voice.”
Policies, activities and funding
In partnership with college leadership, faculty and staff, student senates and student government associations work to influence policies, activities and the funding needed for both.
At Madison College, all student-led activities are funded through the student activity fee, and a student committee determines how that money is spent, Rome says.
“Over the years, students have successfully advocated for the creation of a textbook rental program, on-campus food pantries, city bus passes for students, a meditation/prayer space for students and many other supports for student success,” she says.
Madison also has opened a writing center that Crowder notes was an idea that was initiated from a student’s extra-credit paper.
“If you don’t have student input and student involvement, you’re missing the boat on things people might not think of, outside the box,” she says.
The college also has provided more family-friendly spaces for students with children, along with a written policy that children can be on campus as long as they’re supervised.
“It’s super-duper important that that’s written down,” Crowder says, to help overcome objections.
Another policy change the student senate successfully advocated for, after a yearlong debate, was allowing students to use their chosen names on their student identification cards, Brito says.
“If you can’t choose how you want to be represented, that’s demoralizing,” he says. In addition to transgender or nonbinary people, those impacted by the change in policy included students who “come from a different culture and [also] have an Americanized name.”
‘Uncomfortable Conversations’
At South Puget Sound, the student senate in recent years has led the effort to establish a pantry to address food insecurity, Manley says. Because the school is located in Washington’s state capital, student representatives are heavily involved in statewide legislative advocacy. They’re also responsible for the budgetary process regarding how student fees are spent, she says.
Gupton notes that student leaders were instrumental in launching an event series at the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Center called “Uncomfortable Conversations,” aimed to boost understanding of how students interact with one another. Topics have included race and ethnicity, gender and LGBTQ+ issues, ableism and ageism.
“We act out real-life scenarios with students, and get a chance to engage with actors, and ask questions like, ‘How could this have been done differently?’” she says.
Such collaborative partnerships seldom involve the need for students to fundraise, Manley says.
“The governance structure and leadership helps to determine what’s needed and funds projects collaboratively with multiple stakeholders,” she says.
Making their space
The student government association at BMCC is “the driving force” behind how student activities are funded, Craig says. For example, based on a student referendum, the college now funds 60% of study-abroad costs, while the students pay the other 40%. The students have helped to make the decision that no students will pay for their cap and gown when they graduate; that all comes from student activity fees, she says.
“Some of the spaces and places that are designed, students are involved in that,” she says. “They decided we would put aside funds for the early childhood center, so students who are parents will get some assistance there, as well. In the senate and council, they will speak up when decisions are made about courses, like prerequisites. They have a powerful voice.”
