Well it's good to know that things haven't changed much. How refreshing it was to come back from my off term to find a blitz in my in box telling me that no one was interested in being the president of my senior class. Not a single '98 registered to run for class president, or even for class vice president.
This struck me particularly hard, as I came to Dartmouth ready to be 'The Man' in student government. One of the first things I did was run for, and win a seat on, the Freshman Council. I then parlayed that seat into a seat on the Student Assembly. I was convinced that these institutions were the way to go. I had been very active in high school, serving as senior class president and as vice president of my county's student government. I think that is why I was accepted here -- it certainly wasn't my high school G.P.A.
But student government, like most institutions, is different at Dartmouth. It sucks. That's all there is to say about it. Student government on this campus, whether it is the Student Assembly, Class Councils or the students who sit on various boards and panels, has no say in anything real that goes on here. They are not encouraged, and in some cases are not allowed, to contribute to the campus as a whole.
That is why I quit student government at Dartmouth. In just two terms, I saw that it was all a facade. The student body doesn't care, the administration doesn't care and there are few individual students who care. And for those who do, I feel sorry. It must suck working so hard and getting so little accomplished. We are supposed to cheer everytime we get a compilation of menus, and not care when the best professors are denied tenure and the worst are offered tenure. Does even one student sit on the tenure committee? No.
However, it isn't their fault. The root cause is not that our student leaders have let us down, although they surely have, but that we have let them down. Let's face it, no one wants to be a student leader on this campus. The only ones who do are the ones that just want to promote their agendas, their personal resumes, or have egos the size of Parkhurst. Why, among a group of 4,000 motivated, intelligent individuals, many of whom have been leaders in other surroundings, does no one care?
The real problem, the real apathy, the real evil, lies in the administration. The administration does not want strong student government. In fact, the concept of students joining together to fight for their rights scares the hell out of them.
What other Ivy League institution gives more money to get rock music concerts on campus, than to its student government? What other institution pays so little attention and gives so little respect to their student leaders?
These are just a few examples of how blatant the administration's disrespect of student government is. In fact, they probably even disrespect it more than the student body, if that is possible. But like most things at this institution, it's all about money.
Do you think the administration could continue to swindle so much money from the student body if it were organized? Do you really think that the Dash account would have survived serious student scrutiny? Come on. Would a well-organized student body continue to let the College fine them for every parking infraction, while they let the faculty go untouched? Please, we didn't get 1300s on our SATs by not knowing that a car is a car is a car. A serious student government could even get the illegal cartel, known as DarTalk, disconnected, or at the very least brought down to earth.
All of the ways that the College screws the student body could be changed by an effective student government, with the support of the student body. This is what the administration is scared of the most. So they give the student government no money, no respect and no prominence. How many of you can even name the Student Assembly president and your class president? If you are a '98, you might not even have one come next year.