Student running for USU's presidency doesn't think the position is necessary
A candidate for Utah State University’s student government has said that even though he is running for the student presidency he doesn’t believe that position is vital.
The Utah State University Student Association “is not essential for students on campus,” said Lucas Stevens, the current vice president. Without it, he said, “students would absolutely get along just fine.”
Stevens believes his previous year in office has taught him what to realistically expect from candidates’ promises.
“You’re just able to see through more of the campaign façade,” he said.
Current president Sami Ahmed disagreed with the notion that the role is unnecessary.
“Absolutely it’s necessary,” he said. “If you’re just a go-with-the-flow, I-don’t-care type of leader, then I don’t think it’s necessary. But if you’re really engaged, then they’ll give you more responsibility.”
Other candidates running for president also disagreed with Stevens.
“I am really surprised that he doesn’t think it’s essential,” candidate Ellie WIllard said. “I hope he still thinks it’s important. It surprises me that he would run for a position, or care to even hold a position, if he didn’t think that it was essential to the student body.”
Erik Fogth believes the presidential position is important for students and university faculty alike. Faculty members need students working with them so they can be made aware of the needs of the student body.
“Administrators have good intentions, but whether they want to admit it or not, they are disconnected from the students,” he said. “In the end, the school is for, and meant to serve, the students.”
Fogth and Willard agreed the school should focus more on the needs of the students, and maintaining that focus is difficult without a student representative working directly with administration.
“I think that if you choose to exclude the students from that conversation by eliminating the student body president, then it shows a huge culture shift and the purpose of the university,” Willard said. “It’s no longer for the students, it’s for the administrators and faculty.”
Stevens said advocating for the student body is more challenging than he had anticipated, but being in USUSA has helped him make his goals more realistic and achievable.
“I think student government enhances student life,” Stevens said. “But to say that it is absolutely essential for the everyday student who probably doesn’t even know we have a student government, who just goes to class and goes home, that’s just a very narrow-minded outlook on student government.”
Voting closed today USU's voting site.