Student government is putting on Political Involvement Week to get students more involved and informed about the political world.
Political Involvement Week began Monday and ends Friday with activities around campus to raise political awareness. Students are encouraged to go out and participate in events: such as a game show, a student forum and a department legislation session.
Gregory Layton, a senior English major from Cottonwood Heights and the student association vice president of academics, said the main focus of Political Involvement Week is to get students involved with the student government. Promoting student government encourages students to give their opinions so the student government can let the administration know what the student body wants.
“It is a goal to more accurately make known to the administration what the desires of the student body are,” Layton said. “Student government can do this by meeting with administration, attending and echoing student opinion at our different councils and meetings, and by pushing initiatives for change.”
Layton said the events this year will be different from years past.
“I know the hidden rock competition is different [from previous years], the game show is different, and our Thursday evening department competition is new,” he said “I came up with the events, and they are an experiment to see how students react to the events.”
Layton said there are three things the student association wants to create with political involvement week: for students to meet DSUSA members, to represent themselves actively with administration, and to voice opinions through student government that can create change.
Kathleen Weaver, a junior communication major from St. George and the senate administrative assistant, said the biggest event of the week will be the Political Feud tonight.
Weaver said she surveyed students this week, and most students didn’t know a lot of what was going on besides the name of the school’s president. Political Involvement Week not only aims to make the student government at DSU more accessible, but to also have government processes more known.
“[This helps] students get more involved and more aware of what’s going on,” Weaver said. “Not enough people know what is going on in politics.”
An example of having students become familiar with government processes is the Department Legislation Session on Thursday. Students will lobby for their chosen department for funding, much like how senators/state representatives would go to their legislation to lobby for their funds.
Remaining Political Involvement Week events include Political Feud tonight from 7:30-9 p.m., the DSUSA senate-sponsored Department Legislation Session Thursday from 7-9 p.m., and the patriotic breakfast Friday from 8-11 a.m.
