The Executive Board of DePauw Student Government announced that open and continual communication is their main goal for the year at the first Student Assembly meeting of the semester Sunday night.
Assembly members will play an important role in achieving this goal, said Student Body President Sara Scully, a senior.
The job of Assembly Representatives is to let the executive board know what their organizations and the student body want to see.
"[Assembly members] have a responsibility when they come to these meetings to spread the word to their organizations," Scully said during the meeting. "It's hard to communicate with the student body. Our bulletin boards are overloaded, and nobody ever really reads their emails. In order to help us do our job really well, we need [the Assembly]."
Parliamentarian Marjorie Daily, a sophomore, emphasized that each Assembly member's voice matters.
"In the past, people felt that going to these meetings was a waste of time, and they didn't get their organization's point across," Daily said. "We want to change that this year."
DePauw Student Government has also created two new committees to facilitate communication with the student body. One is the Committee for Student Concerns, which will handle comments on student life in general.
"If you've ever had a concern but didn't know who to send it to, this is the place to go," said junior Maryclare Flores, vice president of student life.
The Committee for Academic Affairs is also new. This committee will handle concerns about Winter Term, graduation requirements, time banks and advisors.
Student government also encourages students to interact through its social media sites, as they are a way to communicate and address issues quickly.
"We have been utilizing our social media," Scully said.
Scully noted that last week, student government received complaints via social media that the Civic, Global and Professional Opportunities Office was sending emails too frequently. Student government contacted the CGPopps office to let them know about the issue.
"We want to be available," said Mark Fadel, student body vice president. "That's why we're pushing our social media."
President Casey's State of the University Address will also give students a chance to make their voices heard. Students will have the opportunity to submit questions to student government that will then be asked in a question-and-answer format after the address. The questions will be led by Scully and Fadel. The address will take place Monday, Oct. 8, at 8:15 p.m. in Meharry Hall.