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A specific example of my leadership
Nov. 22nd, 2004 02:33 amThe response to this Truman question has to be verified by the professor recommending me for my leadership abilities and potential. Fortunately, my student senate faculty advisor has already agreed to write it for me.
You guys already know about this one, but this took a surprisingly long time to flesh out according to the satisfactory and unsatisfactory responses to this question. Who knew Livejournal would be such a useful cataloguing device?
Any comments would be helpful.
7. Describe a specific example of your leadership.
I understand that student senators do not always introduce bills to get them passed; rather, senators introduce bills to put an issue on the minds of their fellow senators. As the co-chair of the financial appropriations committee of my student senate, I've meditated upon the dichotomy of my student government. Our executives and cabinet directors received a stipend, but our senators did their work without receiving any monetary compensation. Last year, I attempted to reconcile that difference by introducing a bill to create a small stipend for student senators. I intended the twenty-five dollars a semester to be a token of appreciation, a nice Christmas bonus. However, the operations committee changed the stipend bill in such a way that it made our student senate positions into a minimum wage job. Many senators, including myself, objected to this change and voted against the bill, defeating it by a large majority. One year later, I reintroduced the stipend bill, but it failed to pass the student senate by a single vote. Due to the razor-thin margin of defeat, the question still plagued me. Did senators want a small stipend or did we prefer the intrinsic value of being a senator? I did not feel that the question had been adequately answered, so I reintroduced the stipend bill again two weeks later.
Much to the chagrin of my colleagues, I was going to keep coming back until my fellow senators voiced their true opinions. My fellow senators finally addressed the issue due to the threat of my persistence. I found out that they didn't feel senators should get paid because those who are in student government should do the work they do because they want to do it. I also unearthed the notion that student senators were public servants of the student body. To my disappointment, my opponents decisively defeated the stipend bill with more than a two-thirds majority. Yet, I feel happy that helped my student senate clear up this murky issue. If I had given up on this issue earlier, the idea of a senator stipend would have remained in the back of the minds of my colleagues. Now, aware of its intrinsic aspects, my student senate can fully focus on improving the campus and the lives of the students it serves.
You guys already know about this one, but this took a surprisingly long time to flesh out according to the satisfactory and unsatisfactory responses to this question. Who knew Livejournal would be such a useful cataloguing device?
Any comments would be helpful.
7. Describe a specific example of your leadership.
I understand that student senators do not always introduce bills to get them passed; rather, senators introduce bills to put an issue on the minds of their fellow senators. As the co-chair of the financial appropriations committee of my student senate, I've meditated upon the dichotomy of my student government. Our executives and cabinet directors received a stipend, but our senators did their work without receiving any monetary compensation. Last year, I attempted to reconcile that difference by introducing a bill to create a small stipend for student senators. I intended the twenty-five dollars a semester to be a token of appreciation, a nice Christmas bonus. However, the operations committee changed the stipend bill in such a way that it made our student senate positions into a minimum wage job. Many senators, including myself, objected to this change and voted against the bill, defeating it by a large majority. One year later, I reintroduced the stipend bill, but it failed to pass the student senate by a single vote. Due to the razor-thin margin of defeat, the question still plagued me. Did senators want a small stipend or did we prefer the intrinsic value of being a senator? I did not feel that the question had been adequately answered, so I reintroduced the stipend bill again two weeks later.
Much to the chagrin of my colleagues, I was going to keep coming back until my fellow senators voiced their true opinions. My fellow senators finally addressed the issue due to the threat of my persistence. I found out that they didn't feel senators should get paid because those who are in student government should do the work they do because they want to do it. I also unearthed the notion that student senators were public servants of the student body. To my disappointment, my opponents decisively defeated the stipend bill with more than a two-thirds majority. Yet, I feel happy that helped my student senate clear up this murky issue. If I had given up on this issue earlier, the idea of a senator stipend would have remained in the back of the minds of my colleagues. Now, aware of its intrinsic aspects, my student senate can fully focus on improving the campus and the lives of the students it serves.
