Students can hold about 50 total seats in Academic Governance, and currently students hold about 40, Taylor said. He said faculty often introduces issues into the Academic Governance system rather than students introducing them.

“We weren’t doing our jobs,” Taylor said. “We can’t rely on faculty to bring issues (to the table) that are student issues. It needs to be students bringing those issues in there.”

Taylor said he has met with Secretary for Academic Governance Jacqueline Wright both during the summer and this semester to discuss a solution to the problem.

Wright said there is “no real possibility” that students would be removed from Academic Governance, but said they need to speak up more in the governance process.

“Students need to see a reason and a purpose in student organizations to become active,” she said.

Taylor said he heard “rumblings” of concern about student involvement from administrators in previous years and said they stem not from low attendance, but from a lack of education and legislation from students on academic issues.

“(Some) students sit down and they are deer caught in the headlights,” he said. “Even if they want to be involved, they don’t understand the topics.”

Business sophomore Rachel Tilson said if students want to be heard in the university, they need to speak up and start conversations at meetings, rather than relying on faculty members to raise issues.

“Why do you want to be involved if you don’t participate?” she said.

Psychology senior Katy Brandl said although faculty have good input on policy issues, it is important for students to voice their concerns.

“Students are the ones that know what is important to our generation,” she said.

Student involvement in Academic Governance depends on student leadership, Wright said. She said she has seen a difference in involvement this year because ASMSU has approached deans of colleges, asking them to identify students to represent their colleges on university councils.

Taylor said he wants to encourage students to get involved in governance at the college or department level, which would help facilitate the creation of more organized student bodies and potentially translate into involvement in governance.

“The problem in the past was students never understood that they were making a difference,” he said. “Nobody wants to go to a meeting if they feel that the meeting is pointless.”