Elections for the Associated Students Organization (ASO), an all-student senate, are approaching as they do every spring semester. As they approach, they raise questions of their overall relevance and impact in policy actually affecting student life and leading many to question the importance of student governments.
Undoubtedly, yes, student governments are important because they allow for student representation, a vital factor in serving the needs of students most efficiently.
The election of the ASO includes nine Senate Executive Officers (i.e. affecting finance, student and community advancement, public relations, student services) two student senators and a council to represent each of EC’s eight academic divisions.
ASO is funded by the Auxiliary Services Board (ASB), which oversees funds distributed amongst students services, such as athletic programs, fine arts programs, and student clubs and organizations. Such student organizations are direct reflections of campus life that affect students like the Inter-Club Council, a composition of one representative each from every club on campus.
Due to the fact that the ASB voting board possesses one student representative from ASO, students hold representation alongside official ASB members in voting on issues of college policy and funding affecting student services.
According to EC’s ASO by-laws, powers of student senators include voicing concern as a spokesperson of students; providing guidance to the ASO in their specific area of authority or division; approving programs and expenditures of their division by majority vote, and coordinating activities by campus clubs and organizations.
Student governments allow power to be possessed by the student body to actually affect their school as well as uphold a system of checks and balances with the distribution of power governing EC. They relinquish some power from the hands of administration and grant it to students via representation: a building foundation of our constitution that reflects the spirit of this country.
