COLUMN: A student’s views on being heard
Recently at another Utah university, a 10-member student panel interviewed the five finalists for the position of college president. They endorsed four of the five candidates, but weren’t impressed with the fifth. Consequently, they gave him a unanimous vote of no confidence.
They passed their recommendations on to the State Board of Regents, then went back to class. A few hours later, the regents presented that man as the university’s new president, essentially ignoring the no-confidence vote of students.
Thanks for inviting us, guys. Before, we weren’t really sure if you were ignoring us in your decisions, but now you’ve made it painfully clear.
If you see so few of us out voting in ASUSU elections or filling out Tier-II tuition surveys, it’s not because we don’t care. It’s because we don’t think it will change anything.
I read column after column complaining about how apathetic students are. The whole world will undoubtedly crumble once the “Greatest Generation” passes away and leaves the “Slacker Generation” in charge. Students just don’t care, they say.
But I don’t buy it.
Look at the thousands of students slaving away every day at full-time jobs that pay a meager $5.15 an hour while trying to pay for skyrocketing tuition costs. Don’t forget the countless married students trying to raise a child, work a job and finish degrees while not being able to afford adequate health insurance.
We don’t pretend to be the “Greatest Generation.” But we’re not a bunch of freeloaders either.
So, why the apathy? Students care. But we don’t hold a lot of power to change anything, so why bother?
Consequently, our student leaders often focus on less important objectives.
Don’t believe me. Look no further than the campaign promises of some former student body presidents. One pledged to bring Lovesacs to the Taggart Student Center. Another wanted to get more lenient booting laws. At least current President Noah Riley wanted to get a campus radio station.
All of those are noble pursuits, but what about the weightier issues of the day?
Will tuition ever stop skyrocketing?
How can we help uninsured students find affordable health care without requiring every student on campus to buy it?
When will the minimum wage ever change?
For starters, why not pass a resolution effectively raising the minimum wage for all on-campus jobs to say $7 per hour? Why not only allow businesses that pay the $7-per-hour wage or more to advertise on our campus job boards.
If you’re looking for cheaper insurance premiums, why not join together the student and faculty insurance policies? Students could get cheaper premiums without seeing significant increases in faculty rates. And we wouldn’t have to require 5,000 otherwise healthy students to pay an estimated $2,000 each year for health insurance.
To solve our tuition crisis, why not require a line-by-line audit of every campus entity to see if any wasteful practices could be eliminated? Certainly we have a student club in the College of Business that could assist in such an endeavor. Talk about a resumé-builder.
Also, start demanding fairer representation for students on the state Board of Regents. Currently, the state of Utah pays for less than a third of USU’s total budget. Tuition, private donations and research contracts help pay for the rest.
Yet Gov. Huntsman, alone, appoints the 16-member Board of Regents that oversees all of Utah’s public colleges and universities. Only one student ever serves on that committee at a given time, and s/he must first be appointed by the governor.
We deserve a larger voice in college decision-making, especially as our tuition costs balloon and the state revokes funding.
Let the governor appoint a third of the members of this board. Allow students to elect a third of the members. And let university faculty, staff and administration select the other third.
Imagine what elections would be like if a student actually had a say in the cost of our tuition. Similar measures could be taken to increase student representation on our Board of Trustees.
Give students a little power, and you will be amazed at the good we can do. Ignore us, and don’t be surprised to see more than 20,000 USU students with a passion for apathy.
Whine about us all you want. But remember, it’s not that we don’t care.
We’ve just cast our vote of no confidence.
Jon Cox is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to jcox@cc.usu.edu.