To the editor:

I admit, I was a skeptic about student government when I first entered Vanderbilt. As a freshman, I ran to be president of Upper Lupton because I wanted paper towels in the residence hall bathrooms. I was elected, but paper towels were never added to the bathrooms for environmental reasons. My position, however, taught me a great deal about the power of student government at Vanderbilt. Along with planning popular student-driven programs with hundreds of attendees, I've given feedback and recommendations to high-level administrators on issues that really matter to students, including assigning housing lottery points and construction on Peabody campus.

In the past year, Vanderbilt Student Government has produced tangible benefits to students by pushing Vanderbilt's Gmail service through its final stages, improving Vandy Van routes and lobbying for the purchase of more shuttles, renovating the lobbies of Kissam dormitories (including the addition of the Hemingway Market), initiating the Collegiate Readership Program to provide students with free copies of the New York Times and USA Today, expanding the Taste of Nashville Program to include TGI Friday's and Tangredi's, redesigning Rand to better serve students, eliminating room reservation fees for student organizations in Arts and Science classrooms and expanding the Commodore Shuttle service to take students to more locations. Now, we're working on obtaining financial aid to help more students study abroad in the summer, expanding wireless coverage on campus, having course syllabi accessible online and expanding recycling services to more residence halls.

I'll be the first to admit, VSG does have its problems. But VSG is constantly trying to improve itself in order to better serve the Vanderbilt community. Even though voter turnout in this election was only 30 percent, it is a big improvement from past elections; only three years ago residence halls elected their officers by paper ballots! In this election, we've filled almost all of the 72 positions that Vanderbilt students voted on - I, at least, consider that a success (especially when compared to recent history). We're making internal changes, as well, by opening up our committees to the whole student body. This year, changes passed by VSG (and voted on in referendum by the student body) will also go into effect to make the House of Representatives more efficient.

VSG is always open to new ideas and feedback, but students do have to participate to make our organization work. The way to make Vanderbilt life better is not to encourage apathy, but rather to promote involvement and constructive criticism. On that note, we'd love to hear from you! Please contact any member of VSG or e-mail me personally at lauren.a.ross@vanderbilt.edu if you have any ideas about how VSG can improve campus life or promote elections better to increase voter turnout.

VSG elections do matter. They will count for even more if all of Vanderbilt supports them.

Sincerely,
Lauren Ross
Speaker of the House
Vanderbilt Student Government