Student Government’s mission is to “advocate tirelessly the interests of LSU students by enhancing the student experience, promoting the image of the university and supporting student achievement on the campus and in the community.”
Based on a budget distributed by email to the Student Senate on April 20, SG either directly or indirectly controls nearly $300,000 in various student fees meant to advance this mission.
Does the everyday student know how they spend even a tenth of this sum? How would they figure it out? Does hiding their spending align with the mission to “advocate tirelessly for the interests of LSU students?”
The home page of SG’s website showcases large banners featuring results from an election that happened a year ago, an expired survey focusing on academics and a Lyft coupon only valid on Nov. 3, 2020.
The Senate has not published its meeting minutes since September of 2020. This is the main legislative body representing students at the university, and yet their agendas and minutes are not readily available to students.
It obviously has not prioritized distributing up-to-date information to the student body. Access to updated information on governmental proceedings is central to the democratic ideals SG purports to uphold.
Maybe the lackluster attempt at transparency is what leads to such significant voter apathy in SG elections at the university—in the fall 2020 election, just 1,228 students voted.
It’s also probably why students decided to stop paying members of the executive and Senate staff—they realized that SG was not working to advance their interests, and accordingly stopped paying them.
After all, the executive staff includes over 80 positions, with many of these only displaying sporadic activity in SG proceedings.
“Promoting the image of the university” is part of SG’s mission—and thankfully so, because otherwise it would be difficult to understand their consistent inability to challenge the university’s administration.
A glaring example of this unwillingness to challenge the administration came last fall when the Senate “urged and requested” that the administration of the university rename 13 university buildings. Their request was ignored, and they have been silent ever since.
Where was the outrage from SG’s press shop? Why didn’t the SG president demand to meet with the university president?
SG is surely no check on the power of the administration here at the university. Their spinelessness is not only an embarrassment but an affront to what the students and broader university community deserve.
Perhaps a little bit of transparency in their operations would go a long way in improving SG’s effectiveness.
Charlie Stephens is a 21-year-old political communication junior from Baton Rouge.