Blame for the disarray of the undergraduate Student Government cannot solely be placed on Student Government members. Apathetic constituents—that is, students who never engage with Student Government—must also be held accountable. The lack of student involvement in Student Government over the past few years has led to stagnation and decline within the organization.
When I was part of the cabinet as Chief of Staff, we constantly asked ourselves how to increase the involvement of the entire student body. We heard many complaints from students, mostly about facilities and dining-related issues, but we rarely saw students actually engage in the public meetings or elections. I was constantly disappointed in this lack of engagement.
Not many students ran in elections—both senatorial and presidential. Often, cabinets would have to appoint senators with senate approval rather than simply swearing in new senators after elections. In addition to a lack of candidates, voter turnout was always low. Other Student Government members and I would practically beg friends and classmates to vote. Some senators would win their elections with barely a third of their class voting.
These issues culminated in the December 2023 presidential election, where only one ticket ran and won with 47 votes. This resulted in a presidency where the cabinet was unprepared and disorganized. With a president and vice president elected with only 47 votes, it created a space where there were constant questions of whether or not the cabinet could accurately represent the undergraduate student body.
To be clear, I believe the removal of former President Brazil Brown from office was necessary. However, the impeachment should have been handled with dignity and in a way that did not publicly humiliate Brown. There are many well-documented issues that arose during the Brown-Satola administration, as described in a previous Acorn issue. Impeachment solved some of these issues, although it was handled in a harmful way.
To the many students who have heard the rumors and facts and engaged in discussion about Student Government now: where were you to prevent this in December 2023? Blame does not only rest on those who have already been widely and publicly criticized. If someone else had run and campaigned, even as a write-in, we would not be where we are today as a student body.
Constituent engagement is necessary for a vibrant Student Government, full of healthy debate and continual progress from the previous administration. When I was Chief of Staff, there was a severe lack of this engagement, to the point where I would desperately ask friends and classmates to attend meetings or run for open positions. It was like pulling teeth. When I attend senate meetings now, the public seats are filled.
If student engagement was like this a year ago, and if students were as aware of the operations of Student Government as they are now, students would have realized that a functional Student Government is necessary. Then, someone else might have run to prevent the breakdown of the Student Government this semester.
Elisabeth Sauerman is a senior majoring in public health and minoring in both anthropology and environmental justice.
Featured image courtesy of Pexels.com.
