In response to the letter by Students for Liberty in last week’s issue, I am forced to agree that this system is overly regulated and essentially creates no benefit. Example: While serving on the E-board for one of the larger student groups on campus, I was a participant in that group’s endorsement process. It was a waste of everybody’s time. The effort it took to Skype in a candidate from China, coax the various other candidates away from frat activities and to listen for an hour and a half of “we care about your special interest constituency” was not a pleasurable or worthwhile experience.
But I must ask SFL, and the student body in general, does changing electoral policy matter? That the representatives who pass resolutions to compel the president to try and advocate on our behalf are more fairly elected means what? The energy to reform election policy is misplaced — we should be more worried about the lack of power of Student Government in the realm of University Policy.
The disregard with which the administration of this school treats its students is appalling and desperately needs correcting. The changes to the Student Conduct code and claiming the WONK campaign is lovingly embraced by the large majority of students are evidence enough for the average student; and those students that have had an experience with the bloated bureaucracy know well the inefficiencies and incompetence that plagues the administration that desperately seeks to control us. On the one hand, President Kerwin’s campus update will tout student academic achievements and benefits to the community, while on the other Gail Hanson will calmly remind us in an e-mail of the universal jurisdiction of the Student Code and the wisdom and finality of the administration’s decisions on behalf of students.
Oh yes, it’s nice that AU has seen fit to grant us our allowance — a paltry $619,920, the equivalent of about 15 students’ yearly tuition. Using the budgets projected for 2012, this is only 0.11 percent of AU’s overall revenues. Given more money, and perhaps some real authority, SG will come under more scrutiny from the average student. Then it follows that SG will naturally have to adapt to a more aware and involved student body — granting changes to electoral procedures, etc. Ideally, this would then transform into organizing students to protest for policy changes and cause the administration of this school too finally pay attention to students’ wishes. Finally, I believe that given a stronger Student Government, the most politically active campus in the country to finally start paying attention to itself for a change.
William Hodges
CAS 2012
