Student Government trades cookies for feedback at Welcome Week event

SG launched What Do You Want Wednesdays last spring looking to engage students. (Photo provided by Tommy Lee)

Student Government’s monthly What Do You Want Wednesdays event kicked off this week with a free cookie giveaway near North Plaza on Wednesday afternoon. Students were given the snack after leaving suggestions with SG members.

Feedback from students addressed a number of concerns such as communication with students, parking accessibility and vegan dining options. SG rented the Otis Spunkmeyer cookie cart and provided participating students with a cookie in exchange for their thoughts.

What Do You Want Wednesdays originated last year as a way to elicit suggestions from students regarding things they would like to see changed or improved on campus. Jacky Yoo, Vice President of SG and a Mason senior, said that her and other executive members of SG came up with the idea after they attended a National Student Government conference last year.

SG members at the event said students seemed interested in leaving suggestions.

“We saw this event as a way to reach out to students,” Yoo said. “We wanted to increase our transparency to [Mason] students and to also strengthen relationships between members of the Executive branch and the Senate. The main goal of What Do You Want Wednesdays is to show students that we [SG] are out in full force.”

Students said it was a valuable resource for those who didn’t know how to get in contact with their SG representatives.

“This is a great way for SG to hear what students want,” said Navita Khatri, a junior Biology major. “It is easy for us [students] to meet SG members in a less formal setting.”

SG Senator Michael McKenney thought receiving student feedback might also be helpful during future SG elections.

“If students are shown their opinion matters, hopefully more of them will give their support during voting times,” McKenney said.

Mason freshman and Public Administration major, Matt Crush, said he is interested in possibly joining SG and wanted to leave suggestions with current members.

“One major thing I would like to see changed is how things are communicated. Students should be better informed when events and activities are scheduled so we can plan ahead,” Crush said. “It is difficult to keep up on everything and having advanced notice would greatly increase [our] options.”

What Do You Want Wednesdays will continue to occur on the first Wednesday of every month throughout the semester, however, Wednesday’s Welcome Week event comes in lieu of the event for September.