By
Dan Cassino
A new incarnation of an ASUA program had its first meeting last Thursday evening. ASUA Senators, appointees and volunteers met in the Senior Ballroom of the Memorial Student Union. There were balloons and speeches and appetizers - nothing unusual. However, this function heralded what could be a new era in the operations of our student government.
Dedication and enthusiasm are the key to government efficacy, and while most of our representatives have no shortage in these areas when they begin their terms, they fade as a few perceptions overtake them. First, they must deal with the perception that they have no real importance in the university system. Second, they must deal with the perception that students don't really care about what they do. Combined, these two perceptions ensure that they don't get anything important done. As long as they don't seem to get anything done, the students don't care. As long as they aren't the voice of the students, no one has to listen to them. It's a vicious cycle, but one that can be broken. Now, it seems that it will be.
FACES volunteers are proving that students do care about their student government. Given opportunity and support, 400 people at freshman orientation signed up to express their interest in being a part of an active, energetic student government. This, in itself, is not surprising. "We've never had problems at the beginning of the semester," said ASUA president Ben Graff, "but we've always had problems retaining people." This year, has proven to be different. Of those initial 400, 200 have followed up, and gotten on the FACES Listserv. Of those, 100 have actually been coming in, choosing the programs they want to work with and the issues that matter to them.
Nearly all of our ASUA senators showed up for the event. Senator Tricia Williams was so sick that she could barely speak, but she refused to miss this meeting. She had to be here for her volunteers. Even to her, one of our most effective senators, these volunteers seem to be an inspiration.
All of this is the result of the work of FACES director Timna Sitzes. Now in her second year working with ASUA, she took over the empty program during the summer: creating bylaws where there had been none, figuring out how to incorporate the volunteer and social aspects of the program into a coherent whole. She met with Graff weekly to work out the details of how this system could function in ASUA. Most importantly, she went to the meet the freshmen that would fill the program, infecting them with her enthusiasm. Modesty aside, this is her program.
Her belief in the potential of student government, lack the apathy that surrounds it, is understandable. Last year, she was far more effective than many of the senators she was working for in registering voters and mobilizing student support. She has never lost her enthusiasm for getting things done because she has never encountered a project that she couldn't handle.
After a while, too many of our representatives realize that they won't be able to do many of things that are important to them. Learned helplessness kicks in, and to make it less painful, they simply stop caring. "Some people work their butts off. Some people don't. People who are working their butts off are getting dragged down." said Sitzes.
But these new volunteers don't know that they can't get anything done. They have the inspiration of an energetic leader who actually has gotten things done in student government. They, like Sitzes, won't be dragging anyone down, and may even give some support to those that are trying to get things done. In them, we have the best opportunity in recent years to do something real and positive on our campus. But more importantly, this sort of confidence is infectious. It has passed from Sitzes to the FACES group to the ASUA senators, and with it comes the promise of great things.
It is difficult to underestimate the impact that these100 volunteers could have on ASUA. With their enthusiasm, and the leadership of someone with proven efficacy, they could change the way ASUA works.
