The Baker University Student Senate has done an excellent job of listening to student concerns and then taking action to solve any problems that arise.

The senators, especially student senate president Warren Swenson, have made themselves transparent in their actions and really have tackled issues that affect students and taken on issues that students want to see changed.

Last May, the student senators presented a proposal to the Student Development Committee of the Baker University Board of Trustees that would do away with visitation hours in the residence halls.

But it was not endorsed by the committee, and was sent back to the student senators.

So Swenson, along with vice president Erica Vest and other members of the student senate, worked diligently to create another proposal.

Student input was taken; surveys were given in the Harter Union lobby, where Swenson and Vest sat asking students for their input on a new policy for almost a week.

On Oct. 29, a new proposal was presented to the Student Development Committee. The proposal said visitation hours in the residence halls would be restricted from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the first month of school and then the roommates would set visitation hours based on an agreement in their roommate agreement contracts.

But, once again, the committee did not endorse the proposal.

Once again, the senators had to go back and work on the proposal.

Once again, they’ll have to get student feedback and hear what students have to say about the visitation hour policy.

Once again, they’ll have to present a new proposal to the committee at the next board meeting in February.

Students want to see the visitation policy in the student handbook changed, and the student senators won’t stop until what is in the handbook represents what the students at Baker want the policy to be.

Getting policies passed is not a quick and easy task to take on. However, because the senators realize this is a topic and concern students on campus have, they are continuing to work for it.

The point of having a student government is to listen to the concerns and needs of the student population, and then look to make those wishes a reality.

By getting feedback and listening to the students, the senators are not just focusing on issues that are important to them, but are being the voices of the student population, which is what they were elected to be.