The very nature of USC’s Student Government was in the crosshairs in Monday night’s executive candidates debate.
Multiple candidates questioned the responsiveness, outreach and ideas of our leaders. Pronouncements about low election turnout, a stagnant senate and lack of feedback from students painted a picture of existential crisis.
I don’t think the sky is falling just yet, but the candidates are correct that SG must expand its involvement on campus.
The role of SG is ostensibly to represent the student body as a whole. It would be great if every student knew every topic discussed by the senate or every initiative being pushed by the executive officers. In reality, however, students only care about what directly affects them.
That’s why if SG wants to fulfill its role as leaders of the student body, it must put more emphasis on student organizations. Student organizations are where students invested in the university’s success congregate and contribute to campus in a meaningful way.
These are the students who should have the most say in where the money goes and what the priorities are. That’s not to say the whole student body shouldn’t have input, but corralling the whims of 25,000 undergraduate students into policy is all but impossible.
A bigger focus should be on groups, whether it’s Greek Life, professional organizations, club sports or any of the other myriad collections of students. That’s where the energy and passions of the student body lie and where student money is best spent.
Already, one of the largest tasks currently given to SG is to allocate the student activity fees. A lot of that money goes to student organizations, so both parties have a vested interest in forging a better relationship.
There have been efforts at greater collaboration with student organizations in the past. However, right now organizations must navigate a maze of bureaucracy to have a voice in Student Government.
Rather than just have senators grouped by academics and the executive officers work on campus-wide initiatives, there should be a committee or cabinet member dedicated to outreach towards organizations.
This also cuts both ways — organizations must see Student Government as more than a piggy bank. These organizations represent the interests of students and should advocate for their interests when issues related to their groups arise.
Even campus-wide changes affect organizations in different ways and should involve input from as many campus stakeholders as possible. Leadership on our campus must come together, not be spread apart with different priorities.
To better fulfill their role, our student body leaders must give student organizations and their leaders a better seat at the table. Then maybe more people will care about SG and the existential crisis will pass.