The Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) is not just some student group who sets up the occasional get-together to talk about fluffy nonsense.
It is a serious organization tackling issues on campus ranging from clarifying potentially career-crippling wordage on the code of conduct plagiarism policy to making sure there are enough chairs for people to sit on during the daily grind.
So why is there absolutely pathetic student participation in ASBSU?
During the last ASBSU assembly meeting on Oct. 2 there were a total of eight guest chairs for students, which remained empty with the exception of one lonely reporter and guest speaker Carole Scott.
The seating was totally devoid of students.
There is no reason why the only people who are participating in our student government are already the ones running the whole thing.
The students who are most involved are already the ones attending meetings and making things happen. It is sad that our assembly meetings are not packed with students.
Students love to complain about anything and everything from the temperature of the classrooms to the way one person takes up a four person table in the library.
Well, issues such as these are addressed by ASBSU during these meetings.
In some cases there are easy solutions and in other cases it is a matter of finding out who to talk with to make things happen.
The point is the guys and girls who are running ASBSU are working hard to make sure the gears which keep the whole Boise State machine working are getting things done, no thanks to the students.
The inexpensive food at football games, the golf carts for homecoming and the ongoing campaign for equitable higher-education funding are all thanks to the student
government.
More importantly, ASBSU sits on top of a lot of money meant for students, so students ought to be a little more involved when it comes to deciding what should be done with
that money.
In fact ASBSU has $300,000 to put toward student interests.
That is enough money to buy the Recreation Center a new window, but odds are nobody has brought the idea forward to president, Ryan Gregg or vice president Nick Gaudioso, who are both highly accessible to students for the very purpose of bringing up issues.
Involvement or even participation with student government is unbelievably poor at this school.
During the Student Assembly election in April 2011, a whopping 1.85 percent of the student population took the time to cast a vote.
A grand total of 286 votes, and even then only 34 out of 46 assembly positions were filled.
Judging by the vacancies during the assembly meeting it is probably safe to assume they are still not all filled.
These are our peers who represent our interests and provide feedback to make the things ASBSU does have any effect.
These guys are here for students and nobody seems to have the time of day to take part.
As Gaudioso put it during the October 2 assembly meeting, “I don’t think 20,000 students are just happy.”
Well he’s probably right and he said it out of interest for fixing these things and possibly even frustration at the lack of feedback from the assembly.
Let’s face it, if we don’t care about our school then why should anyone else? Including the Idaho Board of Education who gives us money which we need to keep this place running and pay our
professors.
It is easy to get involved with student government and it is never too late to make things happen and have a say in how the school is run.
To the right are some ways you can start being involved with the management of your school.
Get in touch with ASBSU:
Call: 208-426-1223
Email: asbsu@boisestate.edu
Go online: www.asbsu.boisestate.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/asbsu
Twitter: @ASBSU
Go to a meeting:
Executive meetings:
Every Tuesday at 1:45 pm in the Student Union Building, Forum Room
Assembly meetings:
Tuesday at 4:45pm to 5:45pm
October 23, November 6, November 27 and December 4
