During my brief time at Dartmouth, I have been a part of many student organizations on campus. Yet I've never paused to think whether the College actually recognizes the organizations and what they do. I have discovered, however, that in order to sustain themselves, student organizations sometimes need official recognition from the College, since they can provide many essential services to these organizations, such as funding.
Students should have more control over which student organizations can get official recognition from Council on Student Organizations, and subsequently the funding that goes with it.
Not too long ago, I supported one of the newer groups on campus, Por Latinoamerica, so that they could gain COSO recognition. Although the group was eventually approved, I began to wonder about the process itself.
COSO can be a mysterious group for those who do not interact with it often. My research has given me some perspective, though, on how the organization works. One of the things that stood out was that becoming a member is quite tough.
"It's a very selective process," Troy Stewart '07 told me in an interview. "You submit your application, and some are then asked to come in for a round of interviews. It's also a three-year commitment."
The organization focuses on trying to have members who are part of a wide array of activities on campus. "There is definitely plenty of diversity," Stewart said.
I was also surprised to find that COSO was not entirely student run. The administration oversees these funding proceedings, by having members of the faculty as well as two representatives from the Dean of the College's Office be a part of the meetings as voting members.
It is only natural for the people who run our College to watch out for how their name is used (COSO recognition allows organizations to use Dartmouth's name for their purposes), and be wary of which groups are given this privilege. Yet I also don't understand why the administration, which is often overly trusting of its students, does not allow COSO to be an entirely student run organization.
The College promotes a very laissez-faire approach: Students are generally trusted by the administration (and faculty, through the honor code) to do the right thing. Why not place that same faith in the students and give them complete authority over which student organizations should be recognized?
After all, if teachers trust us to write our take-home final within a certain time limit, why should students not be allowed to make up their own minds and run COSO entirely by themselves?
This is in not a knock against COSO. I believe that it does a good job at bringing about a wide range of recognized groups. Yet I find their insistence on retaining faculty members as well as representatives from the College on COSO puzzling. It is largely symbolic, since students are such a large majority anyways.
It would send the students a positive message if the College turned COSO entirely over to students, particularly since I believe the way students are chosen is well done and representative of Dartmouth.
After all, it should be our interests, not theirs, that count when it comes to student organizations on campus. We, as students, have an inherent right to decide which organizations should be an official part of our College, since it is part of what our money pays for and it enhances our experience here. And let's face it, you wouldn't want some faculty member deciding whether or not your group is worthy of recognition.
I believe only students should be allowed to make that judgment.
