On Sunday night the Undergraduate Student Government held a special election. Freshman residential and transfer student candidates presented before the USG council and two were chosen within a half-hour. These are supposed to be elected positions, but because no one ran for either of those open seats in this fall’s original election, it all went down in Koch Commons’ fireside room.
Parliamentary procedure isn’t for everybody, but this lack of interest in an important St. Thomas office was disappointing. Our five biggest campus organizations are supposed to represent the entire student body. I’m talking about USG, STAR, RHA, HANA and Student Alumni Council.
These campus groups are important places where normal students can hold power. Students should want to run, and USG senators are supposed to be elected by the students they represent. USG and STAR spend most of our activity fees. That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars each year that have to be allocated by two organizations that are open to anyone.
No matter what school you attend, student activities are prestigious, carry responsibility and look good on resumes. I had a cousin who worked to book bands in college and he eventually got a job with Waxploitation Records. I can’t understand why St. Thomas students wouldn’t want to run for USG or participate in one of the other “Big Five” organizations, especially when many people are apparently dissatisfied with the current campus nightlife and weekend offerings.
Complaining about how activity fees are spent or that homecoming programming was lame doesn’t help anybody. Criticism should be welcomed if it means we can do things better, but it would be a lot more proactive if voiced at an actual business meeting. Suitcases aren’t healthy for a campus, and it probably won’t make on-campus activities cool sooner.
None of the “Big Five” organizations are that hard to join; even campaigning for USG doesn’t take much time or money. Usually, only a few people run for an open seat. Anyone with a smile, Facebook and some friends with sidewalk chalk is a competitive candidate. Getting elected isn’t a threatening or unpleasant experience.
Last year, some friends assembled a cabinet and ran for some executive USG positions. All of them lost, which was unfortunate, but they made a positive effort. It was the first time I personally knew the people who would have represented me.
In no way am I attacking the two new senators or any “Big Five” campus organization. They’ve got my support, and I hope our newest senators do good work in their new offices. And I’ve got no beef with USG; they once approved a club I helped found. But special elections don’t reflect well on us. Someone should have run in the first place.
It’s been said of American democracy that we don’t elect the best citizens, we just pick from those who decide to run.
Our best Tommies, including freshmen and transfers, should consider self-selecting because if no one pursues a leadership role, you have to put up with someone else’s entertainment programming.
Zack Thielke can be reached at zsthielke@stthomas.edu