The PANANOLE News: FSU-Panama Student E-Zine

     With so many problems the world is facing and the lack of communication within the human race, the idea of true representation is a matter for debate. So what is representation? According to the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, it is the duties that a representative recognizes as “…serving to represent, portray, or typify [in addition to]…standing for or in the place of another especially through delegated authority.”

     After understanding the definition of this term as it relates to FSU-Panama, it becomes the duty of the student body to hold their representatives accountable for their needs and desires, that is assuming that the student body even cares about being represented or not.

     Upon almost completing my term in office as an Academic Representative here at FSU-Panama, it has been my observation that before we, the students, can focus on what needs the administration and other departments are not meeting, we must first and foremost organize ourselves in a professional fashion that reflects an institution of higher education, as well as inviting the co-operation from other members of the FSU family.

     We are without excuse if we fail to become a productive student body. Nor is there any excuse for complaining that things are not going the way we want them to here at FSU-Panama, if we, the students, cannot come together with a structure of representation that matches other institutions like ourselves. With these thoughts in mind, the current student senate, myself included, has made it a priority to construct a constitution that will lay the foundation for an active student body with true representation between administration and students.

     In saying that, I now call upon the student body to get involved in your higher education experience and take the idea of being properly represented seriously. Some decisions made at the upper administrative levels will have a direct effect on your educational experience. Therefore, your interests require representation, but it must be through your conviction to see that this gets done!

     Elections for the new Florida State Student Government Association-Panama will be held later this month. Positions such as: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 5 to 6 Senators are currently being discussed by the acting body with the help of the administration and professors. I look forward to seeing some of you choose to be candidates for office, as well as seeing you join the Student Council at our meetings. More information with regards to elections and requirements will be sent out as soon as some minor details are fixed, but look for dates through out campus and PANABOARD. So long,

     Philly D, an active voice of this Student Body