Few things are so frustrating to student organizations than feeling a need to justify their existence. Throughout the course of this year, one of Calvin's most important student organizations, Student Senate, has been doing just that.

In nearly every interview with Chimes and in casual conversations around campus, senators have bemoaned the lack of understanding of what their job is and just how they serve the Calvin community.

Wednesday night was the perfect example of Student Senate doing things right, with the first-ever Calvin College Quiz Bowl, faculty versus students. It isn't the only competitive meeting of students and faculty - Chimes sponsors the Fumblers football game every November, and the engineering department takes on engineering majors each year with a canoeing contest in the Sem Pond - but it is one of the first competitions, recently anyway, to engage the faculty and students on a more social level.

Turnout for the Quiz Bowl was abysmally low; for most of the tournament, only a handful of observers were present, and most of those were related to the coach of one of the faculty teams. During the final round, members of Student Senate and friends of senators also came down to support their friends. Where were all the students? Advertising could have been better, but certainly cannot take the entire blame for the lack of participation.

One problem organization Abram VanEngen noticed was the last-minute pullout by students whose workloads prevented them from attending the three-hour competition, but the larger question remains: would students have participated even if they had all of the information possible right in front of them? The answer is, students are not likely to have participated regardless.

This is not, however, another editorial about student apathy. This is not, as some students would like to see, a complaint about Student Senate and the work it has not done this year. Some years are slower than others; certainly a few things have been accomplished.

What are those accomplishments? First, how about the Student Senate town hall last fall, attended by a meager 15 students at most per meeting?

Looking in from the outside, Student Senate seems to be making small strides in gaining the attention of students unaware that a student government even exists at Calvin. But when only one-fourth of the student body votes in the presidential election, the problem is more than apathy, but also more than communication.

Similarly, only 10 students are signed up to run for Student Senate, a race for which the elections are planned for today, Friday, April 26. Ten students for 12 spots to be held by upperclassmen. This is a problem.

Calvin is not a huge school, but neither is it a small school. When an organization like Student Senate plans an event that is open to a public of more than 4,000 students, not to mention faculty, staff and administrators, and yet everyone attending the event knows each other, that is a problem. A big problem.

Student Senate also attempted to reach the student body through discussion boards on KnightVision. Thus far, some of the topics have generated quite a bit of conversation, and the conversation has been good. Students who don't know each other are debating issues that are important to them, and student senators are responding with their own comments.

The discussion boards, the town hall meeting, the annual survey Student Senate sends out and the quiz bowl are all positive signs for what seems to be a pretty dismal situation. More information needs to be available, but more students need to be taking the initiative.

Student Senate is attempting to tell the students what they do, but they don't know if the students are listening.

Student Senate plays an important role at this college, regardless of how many students realize it. What is important is that they continue to increase the amount of information available to the students and that they remember that Student Senate is an integral part of student life. Calvin's campus is very open for students who wish to talk with professors and administrators, but there are some members of the community who do not have time to sit down with every student who wishes to speak with them. That is the job of the Student Senators and it is one they do well, even if students don't know about it.

Don't forget to vote for senators this Friday, from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Voting will take place on KnightVision and all students, even graduating seniors, may vote.

em