Younger Senate Leads to Changes in GSB

Kayla Kienzle

In the past, 21 or 22 was the average age of a Government of Student Body (GSB) senator. “This year, the average age is 20,” said Jared Knight, President Elect. The GSB Senate is made of 39 Senators. This year six of those seats are up for election; sophomores hold 9 seats. The longest tenured senator is a sophomore. Elections will be held in March and will most likely continue the trend of younger students. What does a younger senate mean for GSB and the rest of Iowa State’s Student Body?

“There are benefits and drawbacks to having differing age groups in GSB,” Knight said. Michael Glawe has served on the senate for two years. Glawe thinks the biggest disadvantage to having a younger senate is the problems that arise in organization. “The younger senate is simply not comfortable and that causes engagement problems.” A younger senate filled with underclassmen lacks in experience when compared with an older senate. “The differences between this senate and previous senates isn’t the youth of the senators so much as the lack of older, experienced mentors to guide the younger senators through the proceedings and processes,” Knight said. It is necessary for officers in leadership roles to understand how GSB works; learning usually comes from being on GSB and other clubs or organizations.

Senators usually work their way up to officers by learning from an older role model. With no older members to guide the senate, the learning curve for new senators is steep. Younger senators jumped into leadership roles that usually requiring more experience.

Glawe credits his understanding from learning under very experienced GSB senators. “Most of these senators were three to four year members who were strong leaders with ambitious ideas,” Glawe said. The former senators were held in high regard. “The young senators didn’t have a chance to experience the great senators we had last year, who seemed like gods to me,” Glawe said.

When Spencer Hughes joined the senate it was very top-heavy with upperclassmen. Hughes started serving on GSB his freshman year and has experienced a high turnover rate. Vacant spots allowed Hughes to work his way up. ” I was elected as the Vice Speaker of the Senate in April 2011 and as of January 2012 have taken over as the Speaker of the Senate,” Hughes said. Hughes, a sophomore, has a year of experience on Senate, the longest tenure of any senator.

Although challenging, Hughes thinks his experience as a younger member has provided him with a vast knowledge and helped him become a leader and problem-solver. “Because of my opportunity to serve in a leadership role, I get to oversee some of the duties of other senators,” Hughes said. Playing a crucial role from the start has strengthened Hughes leadership abilities.

Glawe knows that time will strengthen the senate. “This group of senators is really trying to adjust and comprehend our internal processes as well as our external interactions,” Glawe said. GSB has become a learning process for both younger and older members while they try to figure out what works. “There are a host of problems in the senate, but somehow we always manage to figure them out,” Glawe said.