CCSG plans on working together

By MICHELE E. JOHNSTON
Collegian Staff Writer

The focus of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments meeting this weekend was empowering students and working together to take the initiative in matters affecting them.

All four resolutions of CCSG Coordinator John Gosart's proposal, the "1995 CCSG Bill of Empowerment," were approved. The proposal is designed to increase communication between students and state and federal legislators.

"We've been complaining about budget cuts and lax attitudes for way too long while waiting for others to do something. . . . Now it's our turn. We either run with this ourselves or we fail ourselves," Gosart said.

The first proposed resolution declares that CCSG -- in an effort to ensure representation on Commonwealth Educational System issues -- will strive to maintain communication with legislators by attempting to work with the Legislator Advocacy Network. CCSG also endorsed implementing communication offices at all Commonwealth Campuses, with individual campuses having power over how to run the offices.

The second resolution allows in-state students to request a voter-registration form when registering for classes, whether by phone or through the registrar's office. The idea came from a University of Iowa delegate during the Association of Big Ten Students conference held at the University last month, Gosart said.

According to an amendment made by Thane Fake, York Campus Student Government Association interim president, a computerized list of students will be sent to county voter-registration offices, enabling students to become registered in their county of residence.

Establishing a "Campus Executive Officer for a Day" program was the subject of another resolution Gosart submitted. Students would be chosen through a selection board, either the individual campus' SGA or another group, and would get the opportunity to experience the day-to-day operations of a CEO, Gosart said. The resolution was amended to also establish this type of program for other administrative positions.

"This would be a good way to increase networking and achieve a better relationship between CEOs and students," said Rita Varano, Delaware County Campus SGA president.

According to the last resolution, the CCSG coordinator will submit a bill at the 1995 ABTS conference that establishes Penn State as the coordinator of a Big 10 Conference voter-registration drive.

In other business, the council approved CCSG Academic Affairs Committee Director Tim Daniels' proposal for a student rating of advising evaluation (SRAE), a result of collaborative efforts of the CCSG academic affairs committee, which began last fall. Daniels plans to present the SRAE to the administration and hopes it will be implemented across the system.

"This is a step in the right direction to getting advising put back on track," Daniels said.

Brian Boreman, CCSG vice coordinator, said the advising survey he compiled in the 1993 Spring Semester as Mont Alto Campus SGA president was not as extensive as the one Daniels proposed.

"I think this one has the potential to be effective. I don't want this to die in the bureaucratic system," Boreman said.

The council also briefly discussed the summer leadership conference to be held in August at the Mont Alto Campus. Ideas for improving E-mail familiarity, peer leadership training sessions and regional meetings of the conference were suggested.

The last CCSG meeting of the academic year will be held April 7 and 8.