Student Senate Platforms

Students play a large role in the workforce on campus, and need to feel valued and be fairly compensated for their contributions. Ad Astra will…

• Continue the work to prioritize student wages in the Fee Review processes via adding wage stipulations on all fee entities to pay student workers no less than $10.50/hour.
• Advocate for improved communication channels between student workers and their employers, prioritizing respect for student workers and flexibility.
• Ensure student workers are adequately prepared for the roles they step into to avoid additional stress later on via additional training (i.e. bystander intervention, mandatory reporting protocol, and crisis management.

The impact of COVID-19 on student life has been profound; as the pandemic and subsequent precautionary measures continues to evolve, it is important to center students' needs. Ad Astra will…

• Increase support of existing on campus organizations such as SUA to prioritize interpersonal connections among students.
• Create and maintain a regularly updated and centralized student life calendar via the Student Senate website with information regarding meetings and events taking place on campus.
• Substantially increase outreach of existing funding avenues within Student Senate, specifically in regard to multicultural student organizations and events

The ecological impact of our campus as well as support of on-campus environmental initiatives is central to the interests of students. Ad Astra will…

• Initiate a sustainability program centered around recycling and repurposing furniture in the residence halls and apartments when renovations and replacements occur.
• Equip the Student Senate’s sustainability funding and advocacy avenues with all the support and resources necessary to utilize their fund board to enact environmentally centered changes on campus.
• Uplift student voices in ensuring renovations prioritize environmental and ecological protections.
• Advocate for campus-wide energy saving measures, such as installing timed lighting in buildings.

Crediting SAPEC's work, KU often boasts being on the cutting edge of ST&A research and programming; however, in-person bystander intervention training is not accessible to all student organizations as a result of limited resources. Ad Astra will…

• Increase student investments in existing programs and organizations, like SPEC and Care Sisters, in an effort to increase their capacity to serve the student body.
• Increase awareness of existing on-campus resources.
• Collaborate with existing campus entities regarding a longitudinal bystander intervention program tailored to fit KU students throughout their education.
• Audit the reporting & conduct processes currently in place, & ensuring that students have a place in approving these measures.
• Work with campus leadership to ensure all student employees who are mandatory reporters receive training that clarifies their responsibilities & prepares them to navigate this status.
• Make mandatory reporting practices public knowledge so all students are aware of what spaces are safe before any incidents occur.

KU is a leader in the state of Kansas in providing a safe and inclusive community for Queer & Trans Students. Student Services like the Center for Sexuality & Gender Diversity and Office of Multicultural Affairs, as well as our QT Student Organizations are key to empowering this campus culture. However, when there are gaps in this experience, especially for Black & POC Queer Students, Student Government must work to address these inequities. Ad Astra will…

• Advocate for a doubling of the SGD Campus Fee to support the efforts of the Center and the services they provide QT Students in FY24.
• Be accessible and available to our QT Student Organizations to fund event requests and address issues they are facing on campus.
• Work with Watkins Health Services to create a fund that will cover the out-of-pocket costs of trans students seeking gender affirming care and/or hormone treatments at KU.
• Work with Student Housing to make gender inclusive housing a better experience for trans and non-binary students by relaying student experiences and data.

Every student deserves a seat at the table in deciding how their university is administered and how our community operates. We must recognize the historical inequities that create a barrier to this representation for black and brown students and other marginalized communities on campus. The Student Senate must act to reform the systems that are allowing these issues to reify on our campus today. Ad Astra will…

• Organize meetings between student groups and administration to address issues facing marginalized communities on campus and empower self-advocacy and engagement at the student level. Student Government can only do so much alone and needs to structure a solid student support base to enact real change on campus.
• Work with Student Centers, including, but not limited to, the OMA, SGD, ETC, and MASC to launch a survey that seeks to gather information on how the Student Senate can best serve the many student communities that make up our campus.
• Amend the budget regulations for the DEI Fund to allow students and student groups to seek funding from that fund to engage in peaceful protest. The Student Senate was formed through student protest and it should continue to support the needs and efforts of students seeking a better campus through the means of peaceful protest.
• Implement a student retention initiative that provides a stipend to low income and Pell eligible students. The purpose of this stipend is to alleviate financial constraints that prevent working students from engaging in student organizations and initiatives.

The Student Senate in its current form has existed since 1969 and has been the source of many student initiatives that have become integral parts of our university's daily life and operations. We can only accomplish this work with the support of our constituents and must ensure that each and every student has unfettered access to the actions of their student government. Ad Astra will…

• Form a new subcommittee on Constitutional Reform under the Rights & Affairs Council of the Student Senate to ensure the rules are properly adapted to the needs of student governance.
• Increase transparency by placing a message from the KU Student Senate in every class syllabus to ensure our constituents know how student government operates and the impact of their required campus fee dollars on student life.
• Work with the Student Senate IT Director to update the Student Senate Website to its fullest form before the Fall 2022 Semester commences.
• Create a Student Organization Director Position on the Student Body President's Cabinet which would take ownership of the Student Senate's role in increasing student engagement across campus and supporting the organizations that provide opportunities for community building at KU.

Every Jayhawk has had a unique path in life before joining our campus community. KU must be a place that respects and supports everyone's individual needs as a person and as a student. The Student Senate is responsible for creating a community of care in which we listen to one another and ensure that students have a support system that carries them through to finishing the end of their degree program and beyond. Ad Astra will...

• Organize a Mental Health Awareness Week in partnership with Student Affairs to ensure that students are aware of the resources available to them through their Student Health Fee such as CAPS, mySSP (my Student Support Program, Watkins HERO, and the Watkins Fund.
• Provide Live Transcription for Student Senate Meetings and advocate for an expansion of these services in classes and official university events.
• Request that the Provost move to implement training for university employees to bridge gaps in understanding when it comes to the needs of students with visible and non-visible disabilities.
• Start a coordinated project with CAPS with an end goal of hiring more mental health specialists to meet the needs of students from marginalized communities and generate a report that analyzes the impact of student utilization of campus mental health resources.