The Georgetown University Student Association can produce controversy, if nothing else. It seems that once again candidates are complaining about the election by-laws, re-drafted last year after a problematic executive election. GUSA is also drawing up a new constitution and bylaws for next year. This comes, of course, in the midst of their much-vaunted “Spirit Campaign” and the rest of GUSA’s vaguely sketched out priorities. Maybe I can help clear up their to-do list, though: Let’s scrap the whole damn thing.
Our older bro The Hoya published a column, “Can GUSA’s Hot Streak Continue?” last week alleging that student government is set for a comeback. I’d suggest student government is set for a come down. Why do we need student government, anyways? Nick Timiraos (CAS ‘06, author of the Hoya column, complained about last year’s GUSA administration’s nonsensical e-mails, but at least they gave me a real good idea of what GUSA wasn’t doing. Let’s take a look at what GUSA isn’t doing now:
- Funding student organizations.
GUSA’s President appoints members of student funding committees, but University regulation and oversight prevent them from having more of an advisory role. Club funding was the original purpose of campus government, and without a strong role in that the organization loses much of its power.
- Representing the student body.
GUSA’s executives, Pravin Rajan (SFS ‘07) and Nate Wright (CAS ‘06) were elected with barely 38% of the vote. The assembly was half-vacant until last week, waiting for new elections for the freshmen and junior classes.
- Raising school spirit. Selling t-shirts? Some kind of vaguely defined movie? Let’s be clear: School spirit can’t be increased with shoddy merch or “Traditions Day.” It evolves as our University does.
- Saving the world. GUSA supports Our Moment and GU HERE, two service initiatives, but there’s no need for such support from the over-burdened institution when so many other campus groups have succeeded without GUSA.
- Being an association. Like it or not, GUSA’s institutional structure gives almost all power not to the assembly but rather to the executive, who sets the agenda and claims credit for whatever gets done.
So what is GUSA’s strong suit? In a word, advocacy. At their best as a voice for the student body, GUSA had a hand in Grab’n’Go meals, the housing policy and the renaissance of Hoya Court. So why are we letting GUSA develop its vague mandate into weird tangents like publishing a newsletter or making a film? Mostly because nobody cares what a bunch of earnest and ambitious students are up to as long as they get their Taco Bell.
But if we had our druthers, we could design a system with less bureaucratic madness than GUSA, one that doesn’t attempt to govern or start initiatives but still gets the job done.
Imagine electing 16 Student Advocates, four from each class, to a University Council. Each would be elected with instant run-off voting (including second and third preferences in the vote) to create more proportional representation. (All credit for this idea to Professor Charles King.) There would be no executive branch, as there is now, but a chair elected from within the council. These imaginary advocates could represent the students, move along reform and work alongside University administrators to get things done, all without wasting their time with Spirit quests.
I don’t imagine President Rajan or the rest of Team GUSA will be too excited by this idea; after all, their biggest accomplishment has been convincing students they need a student government. Talking to Rajan as I wrote this piece, I was impressed by his sincerity and the dedication of his team. Nonetheless, it would be better for students and administrators if GUSA were no longer a mess of committees, staffs, initiatives and branches. Scrap the student government, and build a student voice.
