“I get to have time to go to the gym now,” said AUSA President Aaron Schwarzberg.
At the end of his term as student body president of AUSA Senate, junior Schwarzberg discussed the changes accomplished in past year and his hopes for the direction of the Senate in the future.
“I want to have really helped, as part of this senate, change the climate on campus. Our focus on campus climate is to create programs that make people feel better about being at DU,” said Schwarzberg.
“We focused on implementing programs that affect the campus climate, such as the Crimson Companion program and the Web-cam Program, which are the two that I’m most proud of.”
The Crimson Campaign program is for student athletes and leaders who take students with disabilities to sporting events and sit together.
The Web-cam Program is designed to help students abroad stay connected to the campus and their friends and family. Since it is the pilot year, about one in three students going abroad will receive a camera on a first come, first serve basis, and cameras will be set up around campus to keep home close to students.
To assist in this goal of changing campus climate, under his leadership, the Senate created a new position, chair of campus climate on the executive board.
“[The two co-chairs] did a phenomenal job this year. They created an anonymous reporting website so that all students would have a way to explain their frustrations to campus officials, in any aspect of campus life, but mostly geared to [issues of] diversity and discrimination.”
Schwarzberg spoke of the changes that he and the 2006-07 Senate initiated.
“All re-licensing processes were changed so that money would be allocated on a per program basis and not in a lump sum amount. We are holding students organizations more accountable [for their] programming,” said Schwarzberg.
One such student organization, the Diversity Committee, requested more funds this academic year than ever before, which is, according to Schwarzberg, “an excellent sign that the DU community is concentrated on and excited about hosting programs with diversity and cultural education as an underlying theme,” such as programs like Festival of Nations.
“Diversity was our biggest issue, and I think we made positive strides in the right direction. I hope [2007-08] will build on what we started. We want to be known as the Senate that really tackled diversity on campus,” he said. “It is a serious issue to students.”
“Admissions [of diverse students] have gone up this term. Everyone knows it was something we want to address. So, yes, I’ve seen more diverse programming on campus, because of everyone working together.”
Schwarzberg is happy with what the 2006-07 Senate accomplished while he was president, but he said “one of our biggest obstacles was getting people to work together, respecting each others opinions and getting people on the same page.”
“Unity within the Senate was a big issue. We let people express themselves, address it slowly and after the first three to four weeks, we really got together.”
Additionally, Schwarzberg commented on what he hopes the Senate will explore in the coming year. “Senate needs to do a better job of pulling more people in, of being more inclusive. We need to try to bring in more students that aren’t that core group, that aren’t as involved on campus.”
“We tried to market the election, to get people involved in the voting process, [but] students just didn’t come out and vote. There were only 1,100 students votes cast for the presidential ticket, a 300 person drop from the 1,400 that voted last year.”
In the face of such low student interest, getting people involved “has to be a combination of student and senate interest. [The Senate] needs to intiate more fun and interesting programming that affects the student population,” he said.
“I would recommend students to go to senate meetings and hold their senators accountable. Make sure they are representing them, using their money wisely, that they are being active.”
Schwarzberg offered advice to the newly elected Senate. “Don’t forget what you’re here for. You represent the student body, so represent them well. Go out and ask questions and get feedback,” he said.
“Take this responsibility seriously, because it’s an important role. Take advantage of it. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
“Not being president next year is going to be bittersweet because I’ve represented the student body for three years, so I feel like something will be missing,” said Schwarzberg.
Of Vice-President Megan Cartier, Schwarzberg said, “she is the brains behind the operation. I couldn’t have acomplished much this year without Megan’s help. She has been a phenominal leader and a great friend.”
The new senate will be initiated May 29, and will begin active representation in fall quarter, while the 2006-07 Senate will act until the end of the school year.
