Students have the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about issues around campus directly to those who can do something about it, thanks to the Government of the Student Body’s new method of outreach.

GSB has set up a booth in Parks Library, which is manned by senators from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., daily. The booth began the first week of the semester.

The booth was created by Dan Breitbarth, GSB vice-speaker, in order to gather student feedback and for senators to better reach out to their constituents.

“The main reason why I want to outreach [is] because it’s not necessarily about us being known, but it’s the fact that we’re a big resource and people need to understand they have the opportunity to use,” Breitbarth said.

Breitbarth said GSB holds negotiating power within the university and gathering student feedback is important.

“Typically, we have all the information we need to make all the smart choices for students, but we just want to make sure their voices are heard,” Breitbarth said. “So this is one of those ways we can outreach and make sure we’re not just making decisions based off of what we think.”

David Moore, GSB senator, said the function of the booth is getting the GSB name out for the students to see.

“I think this is a way for us to show our presence a little bit more, which was not there in the past,” Moore said.

Breitbarth said GSB can use their resources to act upon any problems students may see on campus, whether it is regarding academics or overall campus life.

The booth is also meant to give GSB and its senators more visibility to the student population.

“It gives students the opportunity to come up to us in a relaxed setting to simply have a conversation or fill out a sheet with comments or questions,” Breitbarth said.

The library booth is helping senators actively represent GSB, Breitbarth said, because it helps them become more outgoing with students.

Moore said he believes it’s been a success so far, not only because people see GSB representatives reaching out, but because they are starting to answer questions that people hold onto.

“At first, it was really slow but I think as people see it a little more, they’ve been willing to come up to us,” Moore said. “It’s definitely been picking up because there’s been a lot of interest in helping out with projects.”

The library was chosen for the booth setup because it is in a centralized location that almost all students visit during the week.

Breitbarth said as vice-speaker, it’s his duty to make sure senators are performing their outreach duties. The previous system wasn’t working in everyone’s best interest.

Last year, GSB senators were required to participate in in-office hours and out-of-office hours. Breitbarth said the system wasn’t working and wanted to change it. Setting up the library booth was his solution.

Breitbarth said the booth is a better alternative because it gives the students a visual of GSB.

Moore said students see the booth and wonder what GSB is.

“A lot of people look at GSB and they won’t be sure what it means,” Moore said. “We help educate [students] in what we typically do during meetings and what kind of legislation we pass.”

Erica Robison, sophomore in agricultural studies, is one of the students who did not know what GSB was before seeing the booth in the library.

Robison said she was interested in learning about what GSB does and believes others are too.

“I think if [students] wanted to be interested in it, it would be a good opportunity to have here,” Robison said.

Breitbarth said GSB is working organization-wide to help students become more aware of what they do.

“It’s not as big of a deal if students don’t know about it, but the only problem is that it’s hurting them,” Breitbarth said. “We’re a resource everyone should have an opportunity to use at some point.”

Maverick Adams, freshman in animal science, said he believes the location of the booth is problematic.

“It needs to be more up front because some people don’t even look at it,” Adams said. “It’s kind of in the back. If it was more out there, more people would stop to talk to them.”

GSB is also looking to expand student outreach by setting a booth outside during warmer weather in the free speech zone or in front of Carver Hall.

“We’re looking into other methods just to expand on how we can continue to represent our constituents well because there wouldn’t be a GSB without the students,” Moore said.

Breitbarth encourages students to stop by the booth and visit with the student senators there.