The directors of two Undergraduate Student Government (USG) executive committees dealing with diversity issues spoke before the USG Senate Tuesday night, urging more senator involvement in their committees.

Sara Ryan, director of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community and its allies (LGBTA) affairs, and Kacy Gambles, co-director of multicultural/diversity affairs, said they were speaking before the Senate to ask for more open communication between it and the committees.

"Senators seem like they're interested in the issues of diversity but no one's coming to our meetings," Ryan said about interest.

When the Senate established the Tolerance and Equality Committee (TEC), a temporary group dedicated to investigating acts of hate on campus, Amy Stipe, who co-directs multicultural/diversity affairs with Gambles, said she worried the number of senators interested in that committee would detract from the membership of her own.

Stipe recommended senators join the executive diversity committees rather than establish another one. The TEC was later disbanded because the powers it granted its members potentially violated the First Amendment, but since then, Stipe has not seen any senators interested in the TEC join multicultural/diversity affairs.

"I'm asking you to stand on the position you actually said you'd go forward on," Gambles said to the Senate Tuesday.

There are about 15 people in multicultural/diversity affairs, and Senate President Bridget Van Osten is the only senator who is a member, Stipe said.

"I understand that people are real busy, but we would like to see senators who were interested in TEC become interested in our committee," Stipe said.

Officially, Ryan's committee has between 13 to 15 members, but only five members usually show up to its meetings, she said.

Two members on LGBTA affairs are senators, Ryan said. Those members are Town Sens. Manish Vaidya and Chris Brown.

Vaidya and Brown are both very active members on LGBTA affairs, Ryan said.

One reason few senators are members of LGBTA affairs might have to do with their involvement in other organizations, Ryan said.

"It was brought to my attention that there was a time conflict for a number of the senators," she said

One senator interested in issues affecting the LGBTA but not on Ryan's committee is West Halls Sen. Kristen Kofmehl.

Kofmehl is unable to attend Thursday night LGBTA affairs meetings because she has to go to West Halls Residents Association meetings at that time, she said.

However, Kofmehl is the secretary of the Lambda Student Alliance, a group focused on LGBTA issues.

Town Sens. V.A. Lopes and Maya McGeathey both said previously that they are interested in diversity issues, but neither are active on the executive committees.

Lopes and McGeathey could not be reached for comment yesterday.