The Associated Students of Linfield College Senate recently approved revisions to the ASLC Bylaws, which aim to change the structure of the ASLC Senate. Students will be voting on the changes in Fall 2013, and if approved the revisions will go into effect in Fall 2014.

The changes include restructuring Senate to be similar to a class council model, which will include having 10 student representatives from each class rather than having 27 individual senators. Senators will also be elected freshmen year and hold the position for all four years at Linfield College. They will be allowed to step down if they go abroad or no longer wish to hold the position.

“I’m hoping it will bring more interaction between the student body and Senate,” said senior Susana Fajardo, former ASLC vice president. “Students will be represented by class rather than club membership.”

The changes were officially approved May 7 after multiple discussions within Senate.

“It was a really good conversation,” said junior Jake Baker, current ASLC vice president. “It’s adding more numbers and perhaps making it more accessible to students.”

Two years ago Senate was also restructured, going from 90 to 27 members in the hopes of making Senate move more fluidly, Fajardo said. However, the ASLC Senate was not as connected to the student body as they wanted to be.

Fajardo hopes that the student body will approve these changes in the fall to allow each class to focus on issues that pertain to them.

“More general campus issues will be handled by Cabinet,” Fajardo said. “[Class] issues will be handled by Senate.”

Issues such as lighting around campus and homecoming will be dealt with in ASLC Cabinet. Issues that are more specific will be addressed in Senate by differing classes. For example, the freshmen class senators would address any issues with colloquium.

“It’s a shift in focus and breakdown,” Fajardo said. “We’re hoping it will build continuity.”

This summer Baker, along with other members of ASLC, will be planning different ways to educate students about the changes to the ASLC Bylaws before students vote on the changes in the fall.

“It’s either you have faith in the system or you don’t,” Fajardo said. “And I really believe in Senate.”

Samantha Sigler

Editor-in-chief

Samantha Sigler can be reached at
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