At this week’s meeting of ASISU, few resolutions and bills were brought to the floor. However, that is not to say that few things were accomplished.  ASISU is a useful organization not only because it gives students a greater voice in the running of Idaho State University, but also because of its ability to change things that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
Because ASISU incorporates so many students from each school of study offered by ISU, the school has many senators spread across campus every day. And the majority of these senators are keeping an eye out for potential improvements they could put into place. The administration, well-meaning as it may be, is not always able to catch the small – but not unimportant – details that senators coming into close contact with the campus may be able to.
Those who work in the administration have full workloads, and are unlikely to have either the time or the opportunity to notice some smaller issues and to change them. But once these many senators see those potential problems, they have, to a certain extent, the power to change what they see being done without ignoring larger issues or foregoing other work, as it would be with an administrative employee. This form of governmental vigilance was seen this week with the proposed Resolution 513, both written and sponsored by Robert Miklos, a senator of the College of Science and Engineering.
The resolution was intended to show the student body’s support for removing the University of Idaho’s emblem from the ticket booths at Davis Field. These emblems are remnants from the time when ISU was merely the southern branch of University of Idaho, and as there is no longer any official affiliation between the schools, the presence of the logos is no longer appropriate.
The history of ISU as seen in the old logo, Miklos argued, should not take precedence over ISU’s current incarnation. An issue like this may seem trivial in the light of some larger issues that may be found on campus, but it’s an example of why ASISU works so well.
With so many senators frequenting so many places on campus, it’s easy for things like this that might otherwise have been overlooked to get noticed and changed.
ASISU meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Salmon River Suite in the Pond Student Union Building. Students are encouraged to attend and voice any school-related ideas or concerns they have to the senate.