Center for International Studies now has representative in Student Senate

Ohio University’s Center for International Studies has a voice in Undergraduate Student Senate after the body voted to create a senate position for the program.Senate members appointed Brooke Siggers, a sophomore studying global studies and political science, to the position Wednesday. Siggers said she hopes to expand the Center for International Studies and encourage study abroad programs for students within and outside of the global studies program.“All global studies students are required to study abroad for five weeks, so just maybe creating new scholarships ... because (financing study abroad) is not easy, and especially because it’s required,” Siggers said.Student Senate also appointed Nicole Riker as the new College of Arts and Sciences senator, Meghan Hepp as the new Women’s Affairs Commission delegate and Cassidy Cleland as a new off-campus senator.Additionally, the body voted to participate in the Ohio Student Government Association, a collection of delegates from four-year public colleges and universities that advocate for the schools at the state level.Delegates, according to the resolution, will be appointed annually by Student Senate.“The OSGA really is primarily a lobbying group on behalf of students in higher education in Ohio,” Landen Lama, Parliamentarian and the primary sponsor of the resolution, said. “They are one of the primary reasons why Ohio State has the pilot program they have for voting student trustees.”Ohio University’s upcoming accreditation renewal was also a topic of discussion at the meeting. Michael Williford, associate provost for Institutional Accreditation, presented to the body OU’s plans for incorporating a realistic student experience into the evaluation.The process will consist of a committee visiting campus from Nov. 2-4. The group will be hosting open meetings with faculty, staff and students throughout its visit. The meeting with students will take place on Nov. 3 at noon, with the location yet to be determined.“We need to tell them the truth about all our experiences here … Be honest. Bring your friends. Ask them to be honest,” Williford said. “What I hope doesn’t happen is that a loud angry vocal minority be the only ones to attend and give...a wrong impression.”Senate President Gabby Bacha also presented to the body, explaining briefly a new website students will be able to use next semester to buy and sell textbooks. The website, Texts.com, allows students to see the market price of their books and price their own accordingly.“You’re able to do textbook exchange between students, but the cool thing about it is it also has the spender price is with it, so you get all the prices with it,” Bacha said. “So anything around you, like any students around you…as well as large vendors like Amazon.”