Silence on Tuition Hike Proves Senate’s Irrelevance

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May 1, 2015

To the Editors:

The Oberlin College Student Senate is a 15-member body, elected to relay the complex and pressing needs of the student population to their institution. Yet, if one were to read the description on its website, one could be forgiven for questioning whether Senate is in fact a “governance organization for the student body.” What do they govern? Senate has no power to enforce and little leverage in any capacity that cannot simply be waved off by administration. Arguably its greatest tool is communication: They speak with the president, send all-campus emails and pass resolutions.

But if the Senate can only speak, for whom do they speak? Last week, Senate failed to make any collective statement of support for students presently organizing against the $2,500 tuition hike. For whom do they speak? Is there an invisible majority of students who want to pay more than the already inconceivable cost? Is it truly so controversial that they cannot agree to support accessibility at this most basic level? For whom do they speak, and, just as importantly, does it do any good?

Some truly outstanding, brilliant student activists are currently serving as Senators, and yet no statement has been made. How is this possible? If Senate cannot do this, why should they exist? If they cannot move forward on this issue, which is so pressing and widely supported by the student body, why should they exist?

The legitimacy crisis of Senate is not new but in fact chronic. Most of us saw the steady stream of emails and incentives, begging the student body to place any confidence in the electoral process. Many attribute this to apathy, but for many it is a disbelief that any time invested in Senate will be time well spent. Historically, Senate positions have attracted those from the most privileged backgrounds, an issue that becomes especially relevant in the context of higher costs coupled with painfully low economic and racial diversity and support. If this body actually speaks for students, why have they been blaringly silent on the current demonstrations? While over 1,000 people have signed the petition for a tuition freeze, Senate has not offered its voice, let alone its support.

This is not an indictment of individual student representatives; it’s an indictment of structure. Nominal power is not power, and when the necessary steps cannot be taken even with words, perhaps it’s time we shifted from nominal power to student power. Perhaps it’s time for a truly collective structure, a students’ union.

If the Senate wishes to exercise what power it does have, it needs to take its mission seriously and put their full weight behind this initiative to make Oberlin financially accessible. If they cannot support us when students rally against astronomical debt, perhaps it’s time to abolish Senate.

– Dan Quigley

College senior

– Zachery Crowell

College senior, former Senator

– Paul Paschke,

OC ’14, former Senator

– Kianna Eberle

College junior, former Senator

– Arianna Gil,

OC ’14, former Senator

– Emma Snape

College sophomore, former Senator