Finally LSU Student Government has something to complain about, a purpose, a driving force behind those hours-long Senate meetings besides BlackBerries, nuclear weapons in Iran or same-sex marriage.
Pointless resolutions, changing its own rules and, of course, wasteful spending aside, combating the freshman residency requirement is what SG was built for and is a way to regain some lost credibility.
BerryGate may have overshadowed the new administration’s transition into office, but it only takes one slip-up - such as a $2,400 blunder - to wind up on the front page and discredit an entire government.
The Senate’s not helping with that whole credibility thing, either. Speaker Evan Bergeron’s early appointment list for the chairs and vice-chairs of Senate committees looks more like a party for his friends, and many members of SG have questioned his judgement publicly.
But none of that is important to you, the student. SG doesn’t directly affect you by changing its rules or by appointing friends to committees.
The Student Senate met last night, and I trust that they discussed the freshman residency requirement, something you should care about.
Last week the body almost unanimously passed a resolution condemning the requirement. But a resolution to recommend something isn’t enough – and rarely works.
SG’s real power is in its name – the students fund, vote for it and staff it completely.
And although they may not be always in constant contact through mobile devices, they can use some good old-fashioned grassroots efforts to stop Residential Life from implementing this clearly monetarily oriented requirement.
It’s happened before, and Student Sen. Donald Hodge was there. Five years ago, Hodge said SG members went to the provost with a referendum the students passed by 68 percent of the student body and demanded those voices be heard. And they were. Hodge said they got apartment complexes involved and defeated the idea.
Ultimately the chancellor and provost will have to decide if this requirement will become policy. And the students with the best chance to convince them otherwise are our SG leaders.
Look at the facts. Hodge said in a Daily Reveille article Monday that the policies could “infringe on Constitutional liberties,” and he’s right. You give up your right to privacy in your home when signing a dorm contract, along with a lot else.
Hodge said certain religions that require the burning of candles or incense could be affected by this requirement because Residential Life doesn’t allow burning of anything in rooms. Other policies, such as not allowing 24-hour visitation by someone of the opposite sex, are discriminatory against heterosexual couples but not same-sex couples.
“You’re infringing on people’s freedoms to make their own choices,” Hodge said Wednesday in an interview.
It’s about finances, too. The cheapest room on the Residential Life rate card for 2006-2007 is a three-student room with a hall bathroom in Highland Hall. That room costs $1,850 for four months of residency. That’s a little more than $462 a month. For that money, students could live comfortably anywhere around campus. Freshmen living on campus their first semester are also required to buy a meal plan, which doesn’t meet everyone’s dietary needs or do so in the cheapest manner.
The SG administration, from the president’s office on down, must fight this requirement. Mandating that all freshmen live on campus not only takes away students’ freedom to choose their own path at LSU but could also overcrowd the good dorms and pack students into the bad ones like sardines. This is where our government comes in, guys.
You see, I’m one of the converted few. I believe SG actually can do good things. I’ve seen it happen – I believe they’re good people who really want to help.
Voter and event turnout history shows that a lot of people don’t agree with me.
Kill the freshman residency requirement and more students will believe.
 
Scott is a print journalism senior. Contact him at [email protected]