Jack MillmanAccording to a survey, 57 percent of students have no idea what Undergraduate Student Government is or does. They can stop reading this article. For those who know about USG, most also know that no matter who wins the upcoming election, the students will most certainly lose. It is not the fault of the members, but rather the organization itself.
USG only has two real powers. One is to disperse money to different student groups with revenue generated from the student activity fee. The other is to serve as a conduit between the students and the administration.
Why shouldn't we simply ignore USG rather than attack it? It is because USG manages to abuse both of its powers. It stifles real student concerns by pretending to represent all students, and its dispersion of money is always heavily biased.
USG's system for allocating money is approval by a body of 40-or-so students, based on nothing more than their personal whims. It is hard to believe that there are not better ways of dispensing money than this. A system like SOURCE (run by the Ohio Union) could hand out the grants in a much more unbiased manner, and with more accountability.
I'll never forget when I was a substitute senator and two senators angrily quit after their funding request was rejected.
They actually resigned on the spot and walked out. While that behavior showcased one ugly aspect of USG, their request was no more or less valid than other requests that had been approved. They just didn't have enough friends on the Senate.
USG is also prone to spending tens of thousands of dollars of student money on wasteful projects such as the nurse health hot line and the legislative dinner.
The other power of USG is not as obvious, but in many ways more powerful. USG is supposed to represent the student body, but instead is used as a cover by the administration to advance policies regardless of actual student support.
USG leaders enjoy a feeling of power and success by hobnobbing with President Gee, other OSU leaders and semi-famous people while attending banquets and other events. They can be appointed to positions such as University Senator and receive glowing letters of recommendations by the finest faculty OSU has to offer. All they have to do is toe the party line.
The only other option open to them is taking an independent course and clashing with the administration. They're likely to lose since they have no real power, and their only reward is losing all of the above benefits.
A good example is the recent vote on switching to semesters. USG is fully behind it, despite a student body that is both deeply divided and concerned about the process. There are many good reasons for the switch, but USG provides cover for exactly these types of policies by avoiding any kind of challenge or real debate before making their vote.
The solution to our governmental problem seems clear. A massive cut of USG's funding would prevent the first abuse and also diminish the inflated importance of USG leaders. Instead of being a squabbling bunch of wannabe politicians, they would be forced to focus more on voicing real student concerns.
The current candidates strike me as truly motivated to help students and address their concerns. Unfortunately, history shows that, once they are elected, most issues will fall by the wayside as the new leaders remain unwilling to give up their perks by taking controversial positions. This means another year of wasted spending and deafness to the student body.
Jack Millman is a junior in political science and economics. He can be reached at millman.5@osu.edu..
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