When asked what the acronym USG stood for, many students stumble in coming up with the answer. SPM heard answers such as “United ‘Something’ Government,” “University Sex Guardians” and “Universal Stop and Go.”
With the election finally at a close after a runoff election and a new Executive Branch set to represent the student body over the next year, many students are wondering about the purpose — and recent actions — of the Undergraduate Student Government.
Students have been critical of the recent decisions that USG has had a part in. More recently, there was the new tuition proposal in last December — which proposed higher tuition even whilst the new presidential candidates were promising to get the tuition lowered — the decision to tack an extra $50 Student Activities Fee on to yearly tuition that would be at the disposal of USG and then the decision of how to spend that money; a ridiculous amount was used to purchase newspapers for campus and to support lobbyist groups.
Students are already feeling the hardships of the economy, and having to pay that extra fee was no small feat.
Who’s to blame for the mess USG made of the student’s dollars and the disconnect that remains between students and their own student government? Many students are beginning to wonder if USG really is working with the students’ best interests in mind, or if they’re working for themselves.
“I’ve been going to ASU for five years now,” geography senior Maura McGarry says, “and I’ve never seen USG make any difference or come through in any of the promises that the presidential candidates have made.”
“If they are changing things, they need to realize that most students aren’t aware of those changes,” she says.
SPM spoke with Christina Rocks, previous Press Secretary of USG and recent USG Presidential candidate. While Rocks had her own criticism to add to the growing pile of complaints about USG, she also says people shouldn’t be so quick to point a finger at the student government.
“The things that USG is doing are really important, and they do impact students,” she says, “but if no one knows what they’re doing, it only makes their job harder. When only 3,000 people vote, when very few people sign pledge cards, the university does not see USG as a legitimate representation.”
Rocks says that this disconnect between the student body and the student government is unfortunate, because the student government does have the means — and now the funds — to provide for the student body.
Many people are quick to criticize USG for what they have been doing with those funds, and they’re not wrong to do so. In fact, the controversial student activities fee (that $50 a year that’s being pulled out of every students’ account), is the first fee of its kind in the state.
What students should know, however, is that this is the first year that USG has had that significant amount of money — $1.9 million — to work with, and they’re still working out how to best use it to serve the student body.
“The current student government administration didn’t know if they were going to have that money, or even get it at all,” says Rocks. “I don’t think everyone was prepared for it.”
And while $1.9 million is, like it sounds, a lot of money for USG to have complete control of, Rocks explains that this isn’t necessarily as bad a thing. Even four or five years back, the student government had a very minimal budget, which made it even harder to advocate for students. And while the Arizona Board of Regents ultimately has the final say, USG still has a large influence on where that money goes; it’s completely student controlled.
The fee gives USG a lot more influence on campus than students realize.
“This is the big time,” says Rocks. “We have the tools to change things, and the people that are in [USG] need to make sure that they are advocating for students.”
That fee is supposed to be working completely for students interests, and “if you’re paying that $25, you should see that coming back to you in activities, programs and services on your campus,” says Rocks.
Many ASU and USG alum are surprised that the student government has even been given the money in the first place. Ruben Alonzo, who was a senator from Liberal Arts & Sciences as an undergrad, says he remembers a time when USG fought to receive money from students under very particular proposals and were still denied.
“I remember that we wanted to pass an increased fee for a specific proposal, and that it wasn’t seen as adequate,” Alonzo says. He adds that it was definitely a surprise for him to hear that the student government was able to get such a large amount of money, especially when no specific proposal of what to do with that money was presented and passed.
It may be that USG doesn’t quite know what to do with that $1.9 million yet, and what they have chosen to do with it so far has received a bit of criticism.
The New York Times subscriptions, for example, were purchased with the student activities fee, and many students were less than thrilled to hear that their money was going towards a newspaper, most of which is available online — at no cost.
Rocks says she knows a lot about the contracts with the NYT subscriptions, and it’s actually a great program when used correctly, including speakers that the university can get on campus, extra papers and other bonus things that USG may not be utilizing to the full potential.
“If you’re not holding the events and making sure students go,” she says, “you’re wasting a resource — and that’s student dollars.”
She does think, however, that “the fee is the one beacon of hope for this student government” and that it’s up to next year’s administration to make sure they spend it wisely and in a way that connects with students.
And while Rocks also admits that “tuition was a mess” this year, she thinks that the all the blame shouldn’t lay on USG for passing the tuition proposal. “I know that there were people on the board [that passed the tuition proposal] that did not support it, and people within USG who did not support it,” she says.
Rather, she thinks it should stand as a reminder to the members of USG that they really need to stand up for students.
“USG needs to be out there speaking to people. . . ultimately you can’t just sit up on the third floor of the MU and expect people to just come to you,” she says. “It’s not that hard to create avenues of dialogue between students and students [in USG],” she adds.
Ryan Fogelsanger, an aviation junior, says that the disconnect is something both students and USG members should feel responsible for, but that things are getting better.
“Some students should take more interest, but it’s also the responsibility of USG,” says Fogelsanger. “But you’re always going to have that percentage of students that just doesn’t care, and you can’t change that,” he says, “just like you can’t change the number of people who vote in [national] elections.”
“I think that they are trying really hard to connect with the student body,” Rocks says, “and that they’re going through different ways of how to reach students, to tap into social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, to tap into advertisements around campus. . . they are trying to brand themselves in a way so that students know what they are doing for them.”
Yes, it’s up to USG to make sure they spend students’ hard-earned money wisely. But it’s also up to students to make sure they hold their government accountable, and that they do whatever it takes to make sure their dollars are being spent in a way that benefits them.
“It’s the students’ responsibility to make sure their experience is what they want it to be,” says Rocks. “And whether it’s voting in the election, sending an email, being a senator, joining a club, running for president. . . every student — whether they’re involved in everything or they take all their classes online and live in Oregon — needs to advocate for themselves.”
Reach the reporter at wesmith1@asu.edu
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