Eastern’s three student senate delegates returned Tuesday after a four-day trip to College Station, Texas to attend the Conference on Student Government Associations at Texas A&M University, an event that attracts college delegates from across the nation.

The student government has participated in COSGA’s conferences for many years and has recently reduced the number of delegates due to university budget cuts.

The usual cost to send five delegates is $7,000, but this year, by sending only three, the senate saved almost $3,000.

Delegates included Tommy Nierman, Jennifer Prillaman and Jason Sandidge.

Sandidge, chair of the university development and recycling committee, voiced disapproval for allocating funds to send five students to the conference, which he previously described as “essentially a vacation.”

Upon returning from the conference, Sandidge voiced different views pertaining to the importance COSGA and how it can aid in the success of student governments both across the nation and here at Eastern.

“The trip by all means is not a vacation,” Sandidge said. “However, it can be looked at as an education vacation.”

The delegates brought back many new ideas they hope to use to help modernize the student government and bring it back to the basics on which the organization was founded.

Some new ideas delegates will introduce to all senate members in a presentation include stronger interactions with students and the possibility of a chat room where students can talk to senate members and make their voices heard.

Among the most-discussed aspects of student government is the voting process and the risk entailed in utilizing online voting.

Prillaman said that a number of delegates she encountered at the conference come from institutions that use an online voting system.

“A lot of other delegates I talked to made it seem like we were in the Stone Age for not having online voting yet,” Prillaman said.

Nierman said the trip turned out to be better than he expected.

“We plan on working with all of the senate members on the ideas we have brought back. We are all in this together,” Nierman said.

Along with new ideas to improve the campus, Sandidge gathered new ideas to bring senate members together as a whole in the effort to maximize teamwork and cooperation.

“Many other student senators mentioned being very close with their senate, even though they do not all get along,” Sandidge said.

Jenna Mitchell can be reached at 581-7942 or