Editorial: The problem with Uni StudCo (Nanopinions)

Part of the series Nanopinions: Bite-sized Hot Takes

Every year, the students of Uni elect representatives for StudCo. Every year, the feedback loop of promises, frustration, and apathy continue with little change.

It’s no secret that Uni students don’t like change. We tend to complain about the flaws of our system, but when it comes to doing something about it, we sit back and hope someone else does it for us.

That passivity, the detachment from actively working towards change, will get us nowhere. As the people, we have the power to do something about our student government, if only we try.

The purpose of student government is to bridge the gap between the students and adults in the building. We have elections because our voice to authority should be representative of the student body, to make sure everyone’s opinions are heard.

Yet, the same people from the same social groups are elected over and over again, and once in office, fail to make their campaign promises a reality.

I think this happens because no one has the guts to directly address the deep-seated corruption in our system.

Many candidates only run for StudCo to put it in their resume and have little passion for the job. Those who do are quickly squashed with the waves of resistance they must push against to get anything done.

Take the sophomore hoodies from this year. Even the representatives trying to plan a simple vote on a design took months, and after the results came back, most of the class didn’t order. If our StudCo cannot organize class apparel, how will they fare when legitimate concerns come up?

The first step to fix that is for everyone to actively participate in the system. Even if elections are mandatory, students skip it anyways, sacrificing their input.

Another part of the problem is communication with and between StudCo members. Neither party bothers to reach out, therefore neither party knows what the other wants. We need a better form of communication, whether that be through open group discussions or more frequent update emails.

StudCo minutes are great, but often they don’t give an accurate picture of what StudCo is doing. They also don’t address class specific meetings, and skim over some details. Most students aren’t even aware that they can sit in on meetings to see first hand the happenings of our StudCo. This right, if correctly used, could make a big impact on the pace of StudCo decisions.

A common argument is that since StudCo can’t do anything anyways, what’s the point of bringing up something they can’t execute?

The truth is, StudCo could do so much more than they do right now.

However, in order to maximize their potential, both the student body and representatives need to work together. With the amount of complaints brought up in everyday conversations, our government has no shortage of issues they could address.

Lastly, we all need to remember that nothing will come out of democracy if nothing is put in. If the public believes the government can’t do anything, the government won’t be able to do anything. If our government does nothing, student voices can’t be heard higher up in the Uni High administration. Then, we will be left to spill our unheard complaints to our friends in the hallways, which flow into a sea of stagnation.