Student Government has long provided a way for members of the student body to have a voice in their campus community. Those interested in joining, however, are not allowed to seek an executive board position until they have at least one semester of experience in the Student Government general body, a policy that has in part contributed to a slate of unopposed executive board candidates.
Some students and Student Government members hope to see a change.
“We’ve had discussions this year to potentially change the Constitution,” sophomore class representative Yuko Tanaka ‘26 said. “We are constantly striving to create a government that is beneficial to the student body.”
Student Government voted on Oct. 5 to open the communications officer, inclusivity officer, and parliamentarian positions to people without Student Government experience. It voted against allowing students to run for vice president and treasurer while potentially opening the presidential post to the public was not raised at the meeting.
“We’re hoping to get [the eligibility change] on the docket at the next faculty meeting, and then the next Board of Trustee meeting that happens in December,” Student Government President Olivia Puzio ‘25 said. “We’re opening up the positions because we agree [that] it should be open and that more people should have the opportunity to be in Student Government, regardless of whether you have experience.”
The faculty and board of trustees must approve Student Government constitutional changes.
There are approximately 10 students eligible to run for executive board across the college, all of whom currently serve in Student Government, making up about 0.37 percent of the student body. In addition to students being restricted from running for positions due to a lack of experience, students who will be studying abroad for one of the semesters during the upcoming term are not eligible to run for executive board positions – Student Government voted to change this earlier in the semester, but the change has not yet been approved.
Some students feel as though this current structure is effective, saying that more experience provides more knowledge on how to lead an important student organization.
“I think jumping right into it, you don’t know how well they’ll handle it with transitioning into college,” Amanda Hoffman ‘27 said. “It would be better to have experience as a general body member, then see if a leadership role is something you could take on and be ready for.”
All students at the college can apply to join the general body of Student Government. The victorious executive board candidates appoint 21 applicants to their government. The application is due on Nov. 3, a week later than in previous cycles. Puzio hopes to see a variety of perspectives and experiences represented within the group.
“We welcome literally anybody on campus,” Puzio said. “Whether you’re an athlete, or you’re in Greek life, we encourage that. Anybody who is interested at all in what we do, or just talking to the administration about the student experience, is more than welcome to join.”
For Puzio, being in a leadership position has created a full-circle moment and has developed a sense of belonging in Student Government – something she attributes to the community it provides.
“It’s just really nice to be in a room once a week with a bunch of people that really care about their peers and the other students on campus,” Puzio said. “I feel like that’s what kind of drew me to a leadership position … it was everybody else around me.”
Butch Oxendine • Oct 28, 2023 at 9:10 am
Previous experience in Student Government in no way indicates competence. Training is the key. Broaden your pool of potential candidates by allowing any student to run for office. Improve your training so that new officers/members can become competent quicker. Model your training after the weeks of teaching RAs receive!