Last Wednesday, Feb. 15, LUCC held a “write-your-own-legislation” session in the Campus Center Cinema. As a result of controversy arising from last spring’s efforts to ban smoking on campus, the Student Welfare Committee of LUCC wanted to increase student involvement in the new legislation. It was their goal to hear concerns from non-smokers and smokers at Lawrence in order to draft legislation that was acceptable to all students.
We at The Lawrentian commend LUCC on taking this open-minded approach to a potentially controversial topic. It’s rare that students not involved in LUCC get the chance to draft legislation like this, so we truly appreciate LUCC’s efforts to increase campus involvement. We strongly encourage LUCC to continue this process in the future for any other legislation that concerns campus life.
This open forum could be an effective way to start campus discussions about other LUCC initiatives, such as new parking allocations or sustainable efforts. This process makes LUCC much more accessible to students — the most common critique of LUCC being that is is inaccessible to students. By having open discussions such as this, LUCC can also clarify their role on campus by showing students exactly what it is they are involved with.
This event was not highly advertised, and it was minimally attended. We are pleased that some students attended, but wish that even more had gotten involved. Numerous students also contacted the Student Welfare Committee to voice their concerns outside of the Wednesday meeting. If LUCC holds any events like this in the future, we at The Lawrentian strongly encourage all students to attend.
This collaborative approach to new legislation is a great way for the newly-elected LUCC cabinet to start the term. We applaud the Student Welfare Committee of LUCC for their innovative approach to drafting legislation. The Student Welfare Committee also intends to hold additional forums on the drafted smoking legislation. Initiatives like this reflect a new, more open and collaborative tone in LUCC’s relationship to the student body.