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St. Cloud State University
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Commentary
Student government should reconsider senate
Published:
Thursday, April 10, 2003
This Tuesday and Wednesday, write in votes will determine the 16th student Senator at large position.
This means that of the 16,000 students enrolled at SCSU, only 15 are interested in being a "voice of the student body." So in a time when so much is at stake at SCSU and in higher education Minnesota-wide, the voice of the population states through its omission, "We don't really care."
By reducing this year's senate election into a matter of sign up and win, student government opens the doors for a potentially ineffective government. How could a senate body aptly defend student interest when there is absolutely no indicator that any of its senators represents the ideals of anyone outside of themselves. Imagine the implications of this kind of "election" in any other political system. What if U.S. Senators was elected by default?
One question that should be raised is, why do we need 16 senators when there plainly a lack interest in that position? If student government reduced this group to eight candidates at the very least, some selection could be made. When an election stops being an election, when student votes do not decide elected officials and instead, elected officials appoint themselves, the term "Voice of the student body" has little meaning at all.
And this is nothing short of a disaster in a time where our campus has several largely unanswered questions.
How will student government deal with the rising cost of tuition, the parking situation on campus or SCSU's terminal problems with its image in light of a constant barrage of negative publicity?
Maybe student government could benefit from a re-evaluation in terms of its size, its scope and its focus in serving and reflecting the student body democratically, efficiently and rightly.
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