CoSO has a rocky start

By Jordan Steele
EAST LIVERPOOL - As President of student government, I had high hopes and expectations for the Kent State East Liverpool campus this fall semester; I wanted to make things throughout the campus better and more inviting for the students.

In order for changes to occur smoothly, the Council of Student Organizations (CoSO), required students from each of the prospective organizations, such as Student Activities or the Computer Technology Club, to attend the weekly meetings.

There is supposed to be an appointed liaison, or some person delegated from each group, as well as an advisor, at the weekly meetings. This allows CoSO to conduct a vote in the most democratic and fair way regarding issues and activities that happen at the campus. Organizations possess the power of representation pertaining to decisions that affect them. The meetings are also a good way for information to spread throughout the student body and the faculty.

During the first meeting held on August 27, the four main cabinet members had an intense agenda planned to discuss several upcoming events and issues. Unfortunately, the turnout for the first meeting was extremely low; no one else showed up. With no representation from any of the organizations, the cabinet could not discuss any of the issues, and only temporary plans could be set for one of the upcoming events.

The cabinet and the CoSO advisor concluded that the reason nobody showed up was a result of a lack of knowledge about the meeting. People weren’t sure where or when it was, even though a KSU-EL e-mail was sent out.

Although the other cabinet members and I were disappointed that nobody came, we understood that the first week of classes is a hectic time. We were hoping for a better turnout for the second meeting, but again we were let down. Some notified us that they would not be able to attend and some were able to come in and out, but it was still not the turnout we wanted. With more publicity detailing the setting for CoSO meetings, the cabinet members and advisor are expecting a better crowd for the weeks to come.

Any and all topics that are not addressed to a major portion of the organization representatives will be rolled over to the next week’s meeting and so on until that issue is known. The activities, on the other hand, must come to a vote with the cabinet members and the organizations’ representatives. They will carry on to the meetings following until the quorum is present to vote.

Temporary plans that were made at the first meeting were voted upon and approved at the second meeting solely by the cabinet only for the fact that it dealt with a general student activity: the Welcome Back Fest that will be held September 9 and 10 of this month.

Student Government meetings are held every Wednesday from 11:30 to 12:30 in room 302 of the Marry Patterson Building.