Every spring semester the Associated Student Government at Fresno City College holds its elections. And it seems that no matter how many people run or how much the candidates try to interest students, only a fraction of the population — no more than a couple hundred from a 24,000-plus-student campus, participate in the voting.
ASG insists on holding these elections every year to represent “the voice of the student body”. But that voice is screaming loudly and clearly that they don’t care about student government or the elections.
In an effort to better the upcoming elections though, ASG will have representatives for different segments of campus, including all of the divisions. With this improvement, senators will have more knowledge of the areas they represent, improving the effectiveness of their job.
While this plan reflects optimism, the adjustment will not matter unless the ASG finds a way to bring more people into the electoral process and incorporate more opinions into the decisions they make.
After multiple years of less than satisfactory election results, those in the college student government have a chance to show that their process of choosing student leaders is not antiquated, and that when given the opportunity, the campus will care about who is representing them.
It is seriously doubtful that many on this campus know the ASG offices, who holds them and what each member of the the ASG does. If the constituent group that they claim to represent cannot recognize the organization or what it is that they are doing for our school, then they have failed as a representative for the student body.
It is not as if members of the Associated Student Government don’t already know that they should always keep constant communication with the student body. Nearly every semester “better” or “increased” communication is upon the list of goals that they come together to improve upon those that came before them.
The goals never change, and neither do the results. The only way that the ASG will be able to raise the number of people voting in their elections is to get out of their office and make themselves visible to the public. It is important they reach out to the student body to better understand the concerns of the school and take real steps towards alleviating those concerns.
The constraints on time are understood, as every member of the ASG is also a student, but it expected of them to execute the office that they signed up for.
With the elections for the 2015-16 academic year approaching, the members of this student government have an obligation to further the name and set the example for any person willing to sign up and take their place.
Everyone who wants to occupy a seat in student senate must remember why it is that they sought the position in the first place. Student leaders need goals, goals that they can execute and which will have true lasting purpose on campus.
If they do not have such ambitions, then the student body must take note of that and not elect those who lack ambition. The people who are only interested in the title that comes as a student senator should not be elected.
If this is something that interests students who believe they can legitimately accomplish the tasks our current student government has neglected, then the student senate is something that we ask those individuals to seriously consider.
Being a member of the ASG should be held with some sort of esteem, and those who hold those positions should feel a sense of pride. As a senator or executive board member of the Associated
Student Government and individual is obligated to be a voice for students on committees that meet to vote and potentially change all sorts of policies on this and other campuses.
If the Associated Student Government cannot fill itself to a functional manner then they should execute the dissolution clause of their constitution and give “all net assets and trust funds to Trustee/Successor.”
