Do your job, SJU Senate
This is the opinion of Kate Fenske, CSB junior.
The St. John’s Senate remains out of touch. This is clearly illustrated based on their most recent Instagram post condemning the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine. As stated on their website, the St. John’s Senate’s mission is to “represent student interests, concerns and welfare with respect to the mission and values of the University.”
Call me crazy, but I think students have much more of a concern with racial slurs getting thrown at a guest speaker, but there is no Instagram post standing with Aja Black.
Students have much more of a concern with being represented by their peers, yet the SJU Senate webpage still claims that they are elected by a “unique all-male student body.” Not all Johnnies are men, and not all Bennies are women. This wording is out of touch and has been a long-discussed issue.
The CSB Senate shouldn’t have to push for a sexual assault committee on the St. John’s Senate after the Pat Hall reports surfaced—this should have been the bare minimum.
Students of color, LQBTQ+ students and survivors of sexual assault should be the groups that the SJU Senate advocates for, yet they don’t.
This isn’t to say that the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t important to students, but it’s simply not the job of SJU Senate to make a statement about it.
CSB/SJU gives free subscriptions to The New York Times, Washington Post, St. Cloud Times and Star Tribune. If you want to be informed about the ongoing conflict, use those resources.
Their post even states “experts in the field and sources bound to credibility are more reliable than just anybody on social media platforms.” In this case, the SJU Senate is not an expert on the issue, so they should be directing students toward experts.
The SJU Senate starts their post by saying the reason they’re posting resources is because one of their key values this year is advocacy.
By directly stating the reason why they’re posting, it seems like they’re checking a box more than caring about making real change.
If you care about the people you’re advocating for, you don’t need to publicize it.
There is plenty of advocacy that students on campus have been calling for that would help make direct change and help the people you claim to represent. If you value real advocacy, do it effectively and do it for the students who rely on you.
Do your job, SJU Senate.