Student Government

[Ancient History]

What is your opinion on Student Government in schools?

I ask because it's election time here again (groan) and we've got a new crop of probably well-meaning and moderately intelligent (God knos, possibly even dedicated) people who've bought suits, gathered followers, and started grafitting the campus walls and sidewalks with variations of "Vote for Me!"

My problem with the business? The Student Government can't do jack shite. They sit on the Board of Trustees with a grand total of 1 vote (out of 32); they have a rather large budget taken from our tuitions which they can't touch for anything without the approval of the deans; and the best of them spend their lives running around a nigh-endless series of committees to accomplish other people's objectives...but not the students.

The sad thing is, today in the student newspaper, two of the the prospective electees got called out for promising things they can't deliver (namely, improving the quality of school food, provided by Aramark the Ubercorp.) I'd feel better about this if the student newspaper wasn't run and written by the most conservative bastards on campus, but I digress.

Okay. That's it. My experience, student government = the suck, and I hate the people who run for office because they're annoying fucks who clutter up the landscape. But I want to hear/your/ opinion(s). Because hey, I could be wrong. Happened before.

[MissTeja]

I think Student Government is beneficial for two reasons. First off, for students who have a genuine interest in administration, policy, or politics, it offers them a good basic first impression of how things work. It exposes them to the competitiveness of elections, the importance of integrity, that while you cannot always get your way, you can have some influence on how things end up, and it also looks good on a college application.

Secondly, every institution is different. While my graduate school is trying to form a Graduate Council currently to give a otherwise-nonexistent voice to the Graduate students at our University, there currently is no residing voice to represent the students. This has made it exceeding difficult for us to get in contact with anyone who gives a damn about our concerns. Yet, the Undergrad's Student Government is has an exceptional amount of power on campus from any other school I have seen. They do good, balancing the interests of the students with the institution itself, and have been rewarded with both respect and expanded control for doing such. They are very influential here.

A lot of times, I think students - just like citizens - just want to have a voice and to be heard. People are understanding of how the system works enough to realize that their issues may not be resolved and that things for the most part, are going to go unchanged, but to have such concerns be heard can often be enough to satisfy the masses.

[Salvation122]

This year, when people are canvassing for Student Government, I will buy a supersoaker and spray anyone who approaches me bearing flyers.

[DarkMage]

The weird thing at my communiy college was the fact that the student govement was accutally part of the power strucher reported straight to the dean of students, had an elected voting member to the trusties board, and yet no one gave a rats ass.

[Szechuan]

This year, when people are canvassing for Student Government, I will buy a supersoaker and spray anyone who approaches me bearing flyers.

You're a man after my own heart.

[FlakJacket]

Just remember to load it with Tabasco sauce and aim for the eyes.

[The Eclipse]

I think that student government serves one very crucial purpose - It teach the concept of political impotence to our future politicians.


Aside from that, it's the most useless fucking thing ever concieved of besides the Microsoft firewall.

[JongWK]

Student Government sucks.

Then again, our SGs are vastly mroe powerful and mostly dominated by left-wing radicals (and I mean Third World radicals, not pansy American liberals), who use them as a platform for political propaganda instead of their true purposes.

There, had to get it out of my chest one day.

[FlakJacket]

So organise your own rival right wing government faction and launch a coup.

[Silent Sniper]

I refuse to validate their political wankery by participating in it.

[Kitt]

Just remember to load it with Tabasco sauce and aim for the eyes.

People in my school generally fill them with piss and aim for the nose. Lovely people, I know.

I refuse to validate their political wankery by participating in it.

Amen. I've convinced my friends either not to vote, or to vote for Mickey Mouse 3 years running.

[mrmooky]

We have a fairly productive student government system here in Aus. At least, they do at my university. This year, the Federal government is trying to pass legislation to remove student government entirely. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that if people see a remotely functional government at one level, they might start to expect it at all levels.

[MissTeja]

[Anguirel]

Student Government at my high school was a joke. Their power was limited to Homecoming floats and Prom committees, really. At my college, however, one part of it controlled (directly) the Student Union budget. They had Administrative Staff that answered to them - they could set prices at the Bookstore, they chose what businesses were allowed to sign contracts to deal goods inside the Student Union building, they controlled the student clubs and activities budget (which is currently approximately $8.5 million dollars). So... that portion of the Student Government certainly has some serious influence and actually got a lot of things done and had parts of the school's administration coming to them to ask for money or with proposals instead of the other way around.

[mrmooky]

Yeah, the system you're describing there is pretty much what we have, and what we'll lose in about 12 months time.