Editorial: Make lists, not noise

It's tough to devote space to nothing... and that's literally what could be dug up about supposed ASUA's proactive moves this semester.

Sure there were plenty of announcements... and denouncements for that matter.

Of us, for example. Of the city for its parking plan. Empty words.

Senators advocated more and better child care. Nice try, but again, no action. No follow up.

The ASUA speakers board even spent more than a few thousand dollars to bring a lawyer lecturer to campus.

Nice feather in your caps, but couldn't the money be better used elsewhere... like for a program accessible to more than a few hundred of the 33,000-odd students that populate this campus. Like child care, for example.

The ASUA president even enjoyed more than frequent mention in the Wildcat's Perspectives pages as the campus caught a dose of Taratayloritis, with full participation by a "fraternity posse" and "Phi Beta lackeys."

Be it in the form of a lawyer, an announcement, a denouncement or mere stupidity, the key word for our student government this year has been words. A lot of noise, but no deeds.

ASUA appointees: Ask yourselves, are you really helping make the campus a better place, or are you just drawing your stipend for the sake of a stipend?

Senators: Ask yourselves how many campaign promises you have kept. Or perhaps more importantly, how many do you plan to keep?

Tara: Whatever happened to targeting student retention rates? Whatever happened to shoring up advising and your ambitious plan to initiate comparisons of advising across departments? You told the Wildcat last year poor advising and subsequent low retention was your major concern and you won our endorsement. Now it's time to show you said what you said because you meant what you said - and not because it sounded good in print.

When trying to inject life into an organization whose members remain mired in their own stipends and schoolwork, the unfortunate fear remains that such advocacy, and perhaps this editorial itself, is pointless.

Yet, with issues like a lack of spaces and high parking prices, a refurbished Memorial Student Union fee referendum this spring, and a university administration bent on privatization and corporate partnership, it is important that students have a strong voice and that student leaders take action to back up that voice.

Anyone involved in government, student or otherwise, should be judged on the basis of actions, not words.

That is not happening now. And it should be.

To expedite the process, we propose something a bit different for ye olde student government types. Make your list of New Year's resolutions early and send them our way. Tell us what you'd like to do next semester, what your goals are and your aspirations, too. We'll publish them in January and watch as they happen.

And it will give us something to write about other than meaningless words.