As the University campaign season begins, many prospective candidates are currently educating themselves on the issues that are important to the Stanford community. Candidates introducing themselves and asking questions of students will soon frequent communal spaces on campus such as dining halls and White Plaza. A year ago, the current ASSU Senate made similar connections with the student body, convincing the community that they would engage and interact with us in order to better suit our needs. Unfortunately, the Editorial Board feels that this Senate has failed in this respect, epitomized by the recent discovery that the Senate has not posted its committee meeting minutes to the ASSU Web site for the better part of this year.

The Editorial Board will admit that we appreciate the candor with which senators responded to the charge that they had ignored their constitutional responsibility to post minutes online for the Stanford community. At least one senator even stated on record that he did not know that the Senate was responsible for posting the minutes. While an honest response, we find it hard to believe that no one in the Senate found it important to make this information available. We find it easier to believe that these minutes were not taken at all, or the quality was so bad that they were not worth sharing. Even so, we urge the Senate to publish these old minutes in accordance with the ASSU constitution.

These missing minutes appear to be an extension of a greater shortcoming of this ASSU Senate–that its members continually neglect to really engage the student body. As such, the Senate–which holds considerable power over student groups and campus policies–now appears irrelevant in the eyes of many members of the Stanford community. When an ASSU senator claimed that no one would read the Senate’s minutes if they were published, they made this point all the more clear. If the Senate feels that no one is interested in the minutes it takes, then it should do something to engage the student body.

The ASSU Executive has set a brilliant example in this respect, initiating dialogue with the community through town hall meetings, listening series and open communication. It is a shame that the ASSU Web site is used almost exclusively by the Executives–the Senate page on the site is mostly empty except for brief descriptions of the senators, which contain statements such as, “I expect to spend plenty of energy towards outreach and communication with the student body to bring you more of what you want.” In fact, over half of the senators listed some variation of “increase student involvement” with the ASSU as one of their top priorities for the year, with such specific goals as creating “One Minute Youtube Meeting Summaries.” Well, the ship may have sailed on this Senate keeping its promises, but we hope that the next Senate will learn from this one’s mistakes and make more of an effort towards engaging students.

In the past few weeks, several senators have been defensive against criticism of their procedure and policies. Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee finally addressed complaints against their handling of special fees funding through an op-ed in The Daily. The previous day, one senator went so far as to rebuke the Editorial Board for our opinion on campaign finance reform, stating that we entered the debate late, made factual errors and suggested that The Daily should “exercise more rigorous oversight” in the future. In terms of the Senate, it is needlessly difficult for the The Daily or the Editorial Board to exercise more rigorous oversight when the Senate fails in its constitutional duty to make their minutes public. The senators suggest that we try harder at our job, when they cannot even meet the responsibilities of theirs.

As the current Senate prepares to end its term and welcome some fresh blood into the campus political climate, the Editorial Board hopes that the future senators will make transparency and engagement with the public top priorities. Among the most important qualities that the Stanford community should seek in candidates this year is technological literacy, so that next year, the senators can actually update their Web site so students have a better idea of what is going on.