Q&A with Student Senate Executives: James Bahensky, vice president-elect

 

Q:How long have you served on senate?

A: I served for a year, last year, and then I took a year off because my classes were tasking, and I wanted to make sure I could still work with my school work, and so I took the year off.

Q: So as I understand it, you were previously involved in the academic review committee; what other campus activities are you involved in?

A: I moved off campus last year, so its been a different experience for me. I still am on the senate finance committee, and we just allocated all those funds. I was really pleased this year, it didn’t take the four days it took last year. We had enough money that not everyone had to come in and I think we allocated pretty fairly this year – trying to make what – make up for what people needed, and its hard to with such a limited budget, but that, and then I was pretty active in the dorm program when I was on campus. I live in Math and Science this year, so its been hard to really be involved on campus, but through health professions club, we do the concessions stands and work with high schoolers on health profession stands and stuff like that.

Q: What would you say is your greatest strength [e.g., personal attribute or characteristic]?

A: I think my greatest strength is helping people. Its like an emotional high for me.

Q: You mentioned “having the qualities needed to bring CSC into its 100th year” in the March 24 issue of The Eagle. What are your plans for the student body in the centennial year?

A: Beginning with senate, I think, Becca Kathman at the last senate meeting, said it best she was like “I think” she said “we need to start putting our minutes online,” and I think that would cut down on a lot of paper, and school’s all about going green now,  it seems. The cafeteria has gone trayless. I’d like to see maybe more, it’s hard to do with student senate, where, but I’d like to maybe more televisions? It’s hard balance, I guess, because you want that study atmosphere, but, like in the recreational rooms, like the Red Room, and the basement of Andrews. The basement of Andrews is kinda, I don’t know, gloomy and dark, so, I don’t know, make it more lively, make it a place people are more likely be, to go to study. I mean, there’s just so many little things that you want to deal with, but there’s so little time to do it.

Q: Yes, there are always improvements to be made, but as I’m sure you are aware, those things take money. So how are you planning to fund raise to finance the cost of those improvements? A: In coming from a small community like Chadron, you can’t go out into the community and ask for so much money. It was brought up, I’m drawing a lot from senate finance, the alternative spring break club, they brought it up, and it’s like,  you can’t ask a community like this to donate $10,000 to a single cause year after year; it’s really hard. And for, for being on campus, I think, more, its just like budgeting wisely, maybe giving up one thing to do another.

Q: What are some of those small, non-essential things, that could be given up to make room for bigger innovations?

A: It’s hard to comment on that because, yeah, could you please just skip that. There’s a lot of different things that, in my opinion, could be cut, but, because of closed meetings, I can’t talk about it. I should have a better answer for that, sorry.