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COLUMN: It's a waste to vote for UOSA

by Matt Bruenig | March 4, 2011 | 9 comments

Most students get it: UOSA, the nominal student government on campus, is something to avoid.

Filled with confused resume-boosters and those who seek to relive their high school student council glory, the organization does little beyond organizing boring events for the greek community (Homecoming, University Sing, UOSA tailgate, etc.).

This of course is why anywhere from 75 percent to 95 percent of the student population avoids any given UOSA election. Hopefully this election will be no different.

We have two presidential tickets, both awful. Forrest Bennett, who heads one of the tickets, has previously expressed an interest in being governor one day. There is no need to guess how he will act if anyone with influence or power in the state (President David Boren) puts pressure on him.

Hannah Morris, the head of the other ticket, is not much better. Her background is so hobbled with meaningless UOSA participation that there is no reason anyone would think she would be a break with the long tradition of weak-willed, unimaginative student body presidents.

Of course, avoiding UOSA is not really about the candidates. After all, perhaps involving oneself in UOSA could improve the quality of candidates.

The real issue is that UOSA is a caged organization with little to no power. UOSA only has a comical thing called “suggestive power” when it comes to the actual administration of OU, and they have a relatively tiny budget to boot.

In an environment where the so-called representative body is given no power to represent, there is no reason to participate in it. Further, those who do participate in it despite that handicap likely have career interests in mind beside students’ interests.

Lastly, the student government, due to the way the regents and administration have caged it, is not even the best way to go about making change on campus. UOSA has “suggestive power,” but so does any other student or group on campus.

I can schedule a meeting with the powers that be in Student Life or other relevant departments just as easily as UOSA can.

In fact, some of the most successful changes on campus have happened in just this way. For example, Student Organization for Fair Trade used their “suggestive power” to get more fair trade options on campus a few years ago.

Because UOSA has no unique power or influence and it’s loaded with the kind of people such an institution would attract, OU students are smart to avoid it and should continue to do so.

— Matt Bruenig, philosophy senior

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