Traditionally, the Registrar’s office asks a group of students to register before the regular registration period opens. The purpose of this is to ensure that the SIS and the entire system are functional before masses of students begin registering when official registration opens.
In the past, the Student Senate has served as this select group. Of course, most people wouldn’t disagree that serving the students in this way is a nice perk of doing the hard work of serving students in other, not-so-pleasant ways.
However, this year, the Senate has taken this a step further, bordering on an abuse of power. Instead of helping out by testing the system before the registration period officially opens, they are now able to register at 8 am on November 1, the first day of registration. This action is being justified by the need to find a time that all senators are free to meet.
Although our senators are busy people who do work hard to represent students, they are by no means the only hard-working group comprised of busy students. The members of the Executive Board certainly put in as much time into serving students as the Senate and also must find a weekly meeting time. Additionally, varsity athletes put in a great deal of time representing us in intercollegiate competition and at times need to miss class to do this. Thousands of other students are involved in clubs and organizations, and everyone needs to plan their classes so they can continue these involvements.
We are disappointed with two groups. Obviously, we’re disappointed with the Senate for giving itself perks and advantages not afforded to other students. The members of any organization that requires a large time commitment may wish that they were gaining something from their position. However, most are unable to grant themselves these benefits, and the Senate shouldn’t use its position to do just that. The Senate is normally expected to stand up for fair and equitable treatment of students, and they are not doing that here.
Secondly, we’re disappointed in the Registrar’s office for giving the senators this benefit. Registration should be as evenhanded as possible, and the best way to do that is by fowling the system of giving out registration times by the number of credits. How does that office expect to explain to a second-semester senior that he couldn’t take a course because a freshman Senator registered for it first?
