Abolish ASUSU
The march of days has at last brought us back to election time at USU. At no other time during the year is it more readily apparent that we are not as far removed from high school as we delude ourselves into believing.
For an entire month we accost our fellow students as they attempt to park, as they leave classes, as they sleep, as they study. Why? To remind them to vote for our candidate of choice because he/she is the most clever in stealing multimillion dollar corporate logos for their campaign. As if that were not enough, we then litter our campus with placards and posters bearing the same stolen logos and slogans.
We do all this in the name of representation – to have the voice of the students heard. Last time I checked, less than one-fifth of the student body voted. The majority of students have already let go of the hope that their elected officers would represent them and make meaningful changes in their lives.
It is time we stopped the charade and got rid of the ASUSU Executive Council. We are having programs cut. Those programs fortunate enough to exist next year will have to do so on a dental floss budget. Yet, we have a group of people elected solely because they could associate themselves with Volkswagen, Nike, and Superman in a way that got them remembered. They have their campaigns and tuition paid for by the university.
If we were to axe ASUSU instead, the university would have nearly $200,000 more every year (cost of campaigns and scholarships). That’s about $10 for every student at USU. Plus there would be about that much more money coming in because our elected officials are paying tuition like the rest of us.
Then we wouldn’t have to decide whether we wanted the peanut butter cup or the peppermint patty to put beer in all the drinking fountains. The time savings may just negate the need for two extra reading days before finals. People would be able to sleep at night so as to wake up on time for their 7 am finals.
What a wonderful world that would be. Adieu, ASUSU.
JOEL DRAKE518231376755-6602JRICHD@CC.USU.EDU