Ohio University's Student Senators

The Academic Affairs Commission was created to advocate for students in their academic careers here at Ohio University. Our initiatives this year will revolve around academic advising issues and working on improving professor evaluations. Alongside those initiatives, we will be hosting an open forum during spring semester for students to talk with administration about current financial issues that we as students and a university are facing.

The duty of the commission is to assist African American students who have grievances with the university; it also serves as the liaison with offices, and organizations involved with the concerns of African American students.

The Governmental Affairs Commission serves as the liaison between the Student Senate and governments of the local, county, state, and federal levels. The commission works on projects to help increase visibility of issues important to students, that are before the different levels of government. The commission also serves to represent the opinion of the students of Ohio University on pertinent issues at each level of government.

The International Affairs Commission is the division of the Ohio University Student Senate dedicated to facilitating the communication between both the growing international student population and the university, as well as between the international students and the faculty of Ohio University. The Commission is comprised of a Commissioner, Vice Commissioner, OPIE Delegate, and assigned Interns. Our primary interest is to create a more harmonious lifestyle for the international community here at Ohio University. Our principle goal is to hear the concerns of the international students and take the appropriate actions to address these concerns. These concerns may range from living arrangements to the OPIE program, in which the international students must enroll. We collectively act as a liaison between the students and faculty, which means promoting communication in both directions, and are dedicated to bettering the experience of the growing population of International students by representing their voice in the Ohio University Student Senate.

The LGBT Affairs Commission is responsible for representing all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally students at Ohio University's Main Campus, as well as establishing a report for the LGBT communities at OU's branch campuses. The LGBT Affairs commissioner acts a liaison between all LGBT student organizations, the LGBT Center, and Student Senate. The LGBT Affairs Commission is also responsible for overseeing the execution of the annual PRIDE WEEK, as well as working with/assisting the other commissioners on the DAC committee with their respective week celebrations.

The Minority Affairs Commission assists minority students who may have grievances with the university; serves as a liaison with offices, departments, committees and organizations involved with the concerns of minority students; gathers and publicizes information of importance to minority students and minority student organizations; informs students of relevant legislation; and promotes cultural awareness and increases multicultural programs available to the student population.

The Off Campus Life Commission of Student Senate aims to facilitate relationships between Ohio University students living off campus and the University. Our main project is Athens Beautification Day, an annual event in which hundreds of students take part in various volunteer projects on and off of campus. To get involved with Athens Beautification Day, please visit the "Initiatives" page. Currently, we are also working on increasing the use of both city and school bus systems by investigating the effectiveness of the DoubleMap program, an interactive application that allows users to track bus routes via a live feed. For more information on DoubleMap click here, or take the poll regarding this issue here.

The Senate Appropriations Commission, otherwise known as SAC, is one of many commissions of the Ohio University Student Senate comprised of numerous students from all majors and student organizations ranging from Greek Life to student programming boards to general student members of the Ohio University Student Senate.

SAC is responsible for allocating General Fee dollars for student programming to registered student organizations with the Campus Involvement Center (located on the third floor of Baker University Center.) Funding from SAC for student programming is for events open and available to all Ohio University students and located within the Athens campus.

For more information regarding SAC or its funding processes, please visit SAC's home page or stop by the SAC office located in Baker University Center 305B!

The University Life Commission is comprised of the five Senators at-Large, Greek Life Senators, Athletic Senator, and the Directors of Health and Safety and Sustainability. The University Life Commission serves all of the students of Ohio University. This year the University Life Commission's Sustainability Delegates have worked with Culinary Services to reduce the plastic bag traffic and to increase the use of reusable bags in the University Markets. We are also working with to modify University Policy for tobacco, working with Campus Care to increase patient satisfaction and other projects as they come.

The Women's Affairs Commission aims to promote a safer and healthier campus for women at OU. Our commission has created campaigns that have ranged from positive body image, to informed voting. We encourage sexual empowerment during "Sex Week" by hosting panels on sexual health or activity as well as other events that center around women's safe sexuality. Our most notable program is "Take Back the Night" week, which seeks to combat sexual violence and provide healthy outlets for survivors (such as our "Name Burning" event). The highlight of this week is our march and rally where hundreds of women gather at college green and march across campus in the dark chanting words of empowerment and literally "taking back the night."