Student Association needs to self-reflect
Once again, Student Association elections season is upon us (are you as thrilled as we are?) and 40% of the seats are empty.
Not unopposed. Empty. Nobody is running for treasurer or secretary.
The SA should self-reflect on why participation is low, why enthusiasm is lackluster and why, simply put, nobody seems keen on joining them.
Perhaps it’s because of growing apathy, or the widespread impression that the SA accomplishes little. This sentiment is far from new, and is probably something we argue every year, like clockwork.
But it’s particularly unsettling now, just weeks after the SA announced an apparent push for increased authority — a power grab, we previously said — through its slate of constitutional amendments.
The proposals, among other things, grant the SA “ultimate authority” over Blanket Tax Organizations and remove BTO representation on the committee responsible for disbursing some $300,000.
The apparent logic for these changes: the SA, as an elected body, is entitled to “ultimate authority.”
But is the SA, particularly the executive committee, truly an elected body? It can’t even find enough people willing to run.
Participation in SA elections has been dismal for years, with voter turnout below 50% since 2018. Elections are chronically uncontested, leaving “winners” who didn’t campaign or who faced little to no opposition. That’s hardly a mandate from the student body.
Before it doubles down on sweeping constitutional powers, maybe the SA should reflect on why it can’t fill its own ranks. None of last year’s SA executive board have come back to run for something new.
The student body widely accepts that the SA is ineffectual, stagnant and not worth the headache.
Many students who care about effecting change pour their energy into their residential colleges or extracurricular clubs — leading committees, planning campus traditions and participating in Orientation Week — instead of joining the SA.
If the SA wants to change that dynamic, it needs to make itself relevant, transparent and welcoming.
The SA cannot clamor for more power while it still struggles to fill its most critical positions. Before the attempting to tighten its grip on other organizations, it should look within — focus on strengthening the SA internally, building trust and proving that it matters.
Editor’s Note: Thresher editorials are collectively written by the members of the Thresher’s editorial board. Current members include Riya Misra, Spring Chenjp, Maria Morkas, Sarah Knowlton, Sammy Baek, Shruti Patankar, Juliana Lightsey, Arman Saxena and Kathleen Ortiz.
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