Helplife2.net: Anyone with Student Body/Government/Association experience?

[15357]

I need to write an article on the differences of the expectations and roles of student government in universities (comparing Korea to whatever).

If you could take 5 minutes to answer the questions, I'd be very, very thankful, and may perform a favor of your choice*.

NOTE: I don't really care if what you write is faked, as long as I don't know that it is a fake. Also, I need your name, but you don't have to give me your real name. I will write "Interviewee requested anonymity" if need be. The answer on #9 needs to be a real school, although it doesn't have to be your school.

1. What do you believe is the main purpose of existence of an elected student body?

2. In your opinion, what are some of the major roles of student government?

3. Do you believe that the student government should cooperate with the office of the Dean, or act as a kind of checks and balances system?

4. How has your student government acted in relation to #3?

5. What is the official stance of your student government in regards to political action not directly relevant to the students? ex) Anti-war rallies

6. Has your SG ever participated in a protest or political action regarding #5?

7. Has your SG ever participated in a violent or illegal political action regarding #5?

8. What is your opinion on #5 ~ #7?

9. What is/was your affiliation (university)





*Disclaimer: We reserve the right to refuse service

Thanks all. Kinda running out of time here, btw.

 

[ktimekiller]

Justin Kim

1. No clue
2. No clue
3. No clue
4. No clue
5. No clue
6. No clue
7. No clue
8. No clue
9. Community college in California





Above is in 100% truth

If my schools student body went and torched a rival school's school, I wouldn't even be aware of it

 

[15357]

Yeah... that doesn't really help much.

Now if you could tweak your answers a bit, I would be more than happy to utilize them. :wink:

 

[kupocake]

Not mad about posting this all here, but PMs won't allow it. I suck at politics btw. You may have noticed

Spoiler

1. What do you believe is the main purpose of existence of an elected student body?
To represent students on educational matters to the the University, local and national governments on issues that effect their right and ability to study (and get a decent job afterwards). This includes the facilitation of study, including the provision of support and information services.

2. In your opinion, what are some of the major roles of student government?
I think I'll answer this as best as I can by describing what and how my University's union worked. At Sussex, the Union is elected in Spring-term elections by the student body. There's an overall President and officers for Activities, Finance, Communications, Welfare, Education. They're sort of given free-reign to implement the policies they were voted in for... I forget how it works. But most movements for change come through from the student body at an Annual General Meeting. Motions are invited weeks in advance and then students are invited to vote on them in the main Union hall. Something like 20% of the student body are required to be present for the motions to be carried through officially.

Arguably the 'support' prerogative of the Union extends to the bars, shops and activities it runs with union money. The 'government' side is really just a slice of what's going on.

I'm not sure if I've got that down, but you'll find the official line here

3. Do you believe that the student government should cooperate with the office of the Dean, or act as a kind of checks and balances system?
Checks and Balances all the way. With tuition fees up to £9,000 it's more obvious now than ever that British Universities are businesses first and educational establishments a distant second.

4. How has your student government acted in relation to #3?
The Union often seemed ineffective, but it did take on some pretty worthwhile causes in its time. In 2006 (I think), the University attempted to axe its Chemistry department, even though it was ranked highly in the newspapers. There were marches, and petitioning and eventually they U-turned. How much of that was due to Union? There's an argument that the newspapers and house of commons were alerted to these plans after the Union's protests, but I'm not so sure. It was just a plainly daft decision by a University management team that cared only about the money.

The action was completely necessary, but I think the deluge of further cuts and department mergers that followed were probably a good indication that alone, the Union is pretty ineffective.

5. What is the official stance of your student government in regards to political action not directly relevant to the students? ex) Anti-war rallies
Broadly speaking, viewpoints are permitted and action is allowed. There was, for instance, a quite vocal 'Free Palestine' group that would hand out leaflets and occasionally hold rallies / gatherings. Societies like these are formed after the payment of an annual fee to the Union, so the Union is in some way responsible for them. You can see a list of Societies that run at the University now, here

A typical staging area for protest activity was the University's library square, both because of the space and the status of this as a pass-through point for anyone on the way to the Union buildings (incl. Bar) and (obviously) the Library. When there weren't protests, people could be leafleting plays or trying to get your vote for student elections. It was quite a fun place, but sometimes it was worth avoiding.

6. Has your SG ever participated in a protest or political action regarding #5?
Generally no. The Union did however pass motions at the Annual General Meeting banning the sale of Nestle and Coca Cola products from Union-owned shops and bars over alleged human rights violations (I think they've now gone on to boycott Israeli foods too). There was also some action to block right wing groups (especially the British National Party) speaking at meetings on campus (but tbh, Sussex is so overly liberal that the BNP wouldn't be stupid enough to go there).

In my last year, some anti-war types attempted to get the Army / Navy societies booted off campus. The argument was that they were recruitment tools for the military, something the societies themselves denied. I can't find these societies on the website anymore, so I think they may have been kicked out.

Apparently, since I've left, there have been occupations of University buildings over tuition fee rises. The Union's position is doubtlessly that the the fees are bad, but i doubt they're sanctioning sit-ins.

7. Has your SG ever participated in a violent or illegal political action regarding #5?
No. However, members of the union and former members of the union were known for taking less orthodox actions / getting arrested in protests, separate from their union duties. A former president (Dan Glass) attempted to glue himself to Former PM Gordon Brown (don't think he was arrested, but there were others who were).

8. What is your opinion on #5 ~ #7?
The University of Sussex likes to think of itself as a particularly liberal, activism focused university and isn't necessarily indicative of the national picture. Honestly, a lot of the motions bought to AGM were needlessly indicative, requiring that University have an official stance on nearly everything. Generally, good sense prevailed and everyone knew that the University saying 'this is naughty' wasn't going to change the world. The few motions that actually passed tended to be bandwagons other Universities had already jumped on (Coke / Nestle ban).

Generally, I (and many others, who typically had no chance to vote against these things) felt that the 'banning' statements were posturing by the Union at the expense of freedom of individual choice. Perhaps boycotting manufacturers IS the right thing to do, but surely it would be more of a statement if people were given the choice of buying a can of Coca Cola and they then chose to have the alternative brand?

I wasn't against most of what went on 'politically' at the Uni, and I'm fine that it happened. The most negative thing about it was that the already unappealing AGM was kept away from by anyone without an agenda because it had a reputation for featuring so many utterly pointless motions. Whilst I rarely supported a motion that passed, it was equally rare for me to object to it, and the same was true for virtually everyone else on campus.

9. What is/was your affiliation (university)
University Of Sussex, 2005-9.

 

[15357]

Not mad about posting this all here, but PMs won't allow it. I suck at politics btw. You may have noticed

Spoiler

1. What do you believe is the main purpose of existence of an elected student body?
To represent students on educational matters to the the University, local and national governments on issues that effect their right and ability to study (and get a decent job afterwards). This includes the facilitation of study, including the provision of support and information services.

2. In your opinion, what are some of the major roles of student government?
I think I'll answer this as best as I can by describing what and how my University's union worked. At Sussex, the Union is elected in Spring-term elections by the student body. There's an overall President and officers for Activities, Finance, Communications, Welfare, Education. They're sort of given free-reign to implement the policies they were voted in for... I forget how it works. But most movements for change come through from the student body at an Annual General Meeting. Motions are invited weeks in advance and then students are invited to vote on them in the main Union hall. Something like 20% of the student body are required to be present for the motions to be carried through officially.

Arguably the 'support' prerogative of the Union extends to the bars, shops and activities it runs with union money. The 'government' side is really just a slice of what's going on.

I'm not sure if I've got that down, but you'll find the official line here

3. Do you believe that the student government should cooperate with the office of the Dean, or act as a kind of checks and balances system?
Checks and Balances all the way. With tuition fees up to £9,000 it's more obvious now than ever that British Universities are businesses first and educational establishments a distant second.

4. How has your student government acted in relation to #3?
The Union often seemed ineffective, but it did take on some pretty worthwhile causes in its time. In 2006 (I think), the University attempted to axe its Chemistry department, even though it was ranked highly in the newspapers. There were marches, and petitioning and eventually they U-turned. How much of that was due to Union? There's an argument that the newspapers and house of commons were alerted to these plans after the Union's protests, but I'm not so sure. It was just a plainly daft decision by a University management team that cared only about the money.

The action was completely necessary, but I think the deluge of further cuts and department mergers that followed were probably a good indication that alone, the Union is pretty ineffective.

5. What is the official stance of your student government in regards to political action not directly relevant to the students? ex) Anti-war rallies
Broadly speaking, viewpoints are permitted and action is allowed. There was, for instance, a quite vocal 'Free Palestine' group that would hand out leaflets and occasionally hold rallies / gatherings. Societies like these are formed after the payment of an annual fee to the Union, so the Union is in some way responsible for them. You can see a list of Societies that run at the University now, here

A typical staging area for protest activity was the University's library square, both because of the space and the status of this as a pass-through point for anyone on the way to the Union buildings (incl. Bar) and (obviously) the Library. When there weren't protests, people could be leafleting plays or trying to get your vote for student elections. It was quite a fun place, but sometimes it was worth avoiding.

6. Has your SG ever participated in a protest or political action regarding #5?
Generally no. The Union did however pass motions at the Annual General Meeting banning the sale of Nestle and Coca Cola products from Union-owned shops and bars over alleged human rights violations (I think they've now gone on to boycott Israeli foods too). There was also some action to block right wing groups (especially the British National Party) speaking at meetings on campus (but tbh, Sussex is so overly liberal that the BNP wouldn't be stupid enough to go there).

In my last year, some anti-war types attempted to get the Army / Navy societies booted off campus. The argument was that they were recruitment tools for the military, something the societies themselves denied. I can't find these societies on the website anymore, so I think they may have been kicked out.

Apparently, since I've left, there have been occupations of University buildings over tuition fee rises. The Union's position is doubtlessly that the the fees are bad, but i doubt they're sanctioning sit-ins.

7. Has your SG ever participated in a violent or illegal political action regarding #5?
No. However, members of the union and former members of the union were known for taking less orthodox actions / getting arrested in protests, separate from their union duties. A former president (Dan Glass) attempted to glue himself to Former PM Gordon Brown (don't think he was arrested, but there were others who were).

8. What is your opinion on #5 ~ #7?
The University of Sussex likes to think of itself as a particularly liberal, activism focused university and isn't necessarily indicative of the national picture. Honestly, a lot of the motions bought to AGM were needlessly indicative, requiring that University have an official stance on nearly everything. Generally, good sense prevailed and everyone knew that the University saying 'this is naughty' wasn't going to change the world. The few motions that actually passed tended to be bandwagons other Universities had already jumped on (Coke / Nestle ban).

Generally, I (and many others, who typically had no chance to vote against these things) felt that the 'banning' statements were posturing by the Union at the expense of freedom of individual choice. Perhaps boycotting manufacturers IS the right thing to do, but surely it would be more of a statement if people were given the choice of buying a can of Coca Cola and they then chose to have the alternative brand?

I wasn't against most of what went on 'politically' at the Uni, and I'm fine that it happened. The most negative thing about it was that the already unappealing AGM was kept away from by anyone without an agenda because it had a reputation for featuring so many utterly pointless motions. Whilst I rarely supported a motion that passed, it was equally rare for me to object to it, and the same was true for virtually everyone else on campus.

9. What is/was your affiliation (university)
University Of Sussex, 2005-9.

Thank you, I am very, very grateful. This was much more than I had expected, and could ever want.

I would hug you right now, and I'm the type of guy who hates physical contact.


Can I PM you if I have any more questions?


Again, seriously, thank you.

 

[kupocake]

PM away, though I may not have an answer to everything As for the ammount I wrote, that's kind of down to the complexity of what you're asking and the fact that I can't say anything concisely.

It's worth pointing out that every UK University Union has a website of some kind. They're at great pains to explain what it is they do, and how they can help (note also the National Union of Students). I imagine other nations have the same information network if you want to be creative with case studies.

 

[Krynn72]

Of all the schools I've been to that some form of student government, the only one I every saw do anything was my highschool. But that is simply because they were in charge of fund raising for field trips or dances. They also promised vending machines with tasty treats in the cafeteria, but never delivered.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

1. What do you believe is the main purpose of existence of an elected student body?
Give ambitious students an opportunity to bump their résumé

2. In your opinion, what are some of the major roles of student government?
In college, they seem to make a bit of difference regarding calendar dates like the earliest time to drop a class. Other than that they look out for student interests and club activities (funding).

3. Do you believe that the student government should cooperate with the office of the Dean, or act as a kind of checks and balances system?
The latter.

4. How has your student government acted in relation to #3?
Asking for various club fundings.

5. What is the official stance of your student government in regards to political action not directly relevant to the students? ex) Anti-war rallies
No clue.

6. Has your SG ever participated in a protest or political action regarding #5?
No clue.

7. Has your SG ever participated in a violent or illegal political action regarding #5?
Doubtful.

8. What is your opinion on #5 ~ #7?
Irrelevant to my particular school.

9. What is/was your affiliation (university)
University of Maryland.

Answers in bold.

Call me John Proctor.

 

[dfc05]

will answer based on undergrad university. maybe too late? but if you want some really vague crap on an American university, here goes:

Spoiler

***We had a STUDENT GOVERNMENT which were the people elected by the general student body, and then some more specific student groups who were associated with student government, e.g. followed student government rules, sent representatives to student govt meetings etc. For example, the general campus environmental group was affiliated with student government for a while (but not anymore). But student groups don't necessarily need to be affiliated with S.G. -- for example, the Engineering environmental group was not part of S.G. Hopefully this doesn't get too confusing....***

1. What do you believe is the main purpose of existence of an elected student body?
Interface between students and administration (university staff/president/whatevs); represent student viewpoints/interests (***note, whether they actually do is questionable; very few students bother to vote for people for student govt as we generally don't care); help fund and/or manage financial resources for the other student groups

2. In your opinion, what are some of the major roles of student government?
Same as above?

3. Do you believe that the student government should cooperate with the office of the Dean, or act as a kind of checks and balances system?
More the former. Could be the latter -- if the school is, for example, increasing tuition, generally the student body would be like "rah rah rah don't raise tuition." But generally they just provide suggestions for things students might like to have (see the end of #5).

4. How has your student government acted in relation to #3?
They have a meeting with officials where they discuss issues. For example, when I was there, Student Govt decided "campus should be more sustainable" so they got the administration to, for example, get rid of trays at dining facilities since it requires a lot of dishwashing water to clean them and people tend to pile it with food that they throw away. This was in combination with some environmental/food groups on campus.

5. What is the official stance of your student government in regards to political action not directly relevant to the students? ex) Anti-war rallies
Student Government itself does not do that (there are other groups, not on campus, who do that). I can say a little bit on the environmental group, which was definitely under the Student Government umbrella for a while. We had Earth Day events, but they weren't protests or rallies. More like, standing there handing out information to people passing by. Some of this info could be politically oriented, e.g. "don't support coal fired power plants", but nothing particularly inciting. It was all very tame.
If you want to see a list of things S.G. has accomplished: http://www.utexas.edu/studentgov/about/accomplishments.php
- Getting buses for drunk students to get back to campus
- Providing input on new buildings on campus
- Stuff about class registration, getting a break before finals

6. Has your SG ever participated in a protest or political action regarding #5?
Not that I know of. This would be more in the realm of specific student groups -- either not affiliated with or only loosely overseen by SG. For the environmental group, the most we ever did was write letters to congressmen or invite speakers who might've had some political orientation. It's questionable wheter protests or political rallies were even allowed at my school. As far as I know, we never had one in the 4 years I was there.

7. Has your SG ever participated in a violent or illegal political action regarding #5?
Nope.

8. What is your opinion on #5 ~ #7?
I don't think they should be involved. Student Government should represent general interests of students, which obviously isn't the case if they're supporting one particular political viewpoint. They can leave political action to more specific groups. S.G. is more of a campus government (issues about the university, not issues outside the university).

9. What is/was your affiliation (university)
University of Texas -- Austin

For my current university, as far as I can tell, all the grad student association ever does here is host events involving beer.

 

[Ennui]

I was in student government in middle school when I was 11, we just sat around for 45 minutes once a week and had social time, accomplishing nothing.

Basically similar to the actual government of this country.

 

[Acepilotf14]

~Reina Banneker

1. What do you believe is the main purpose of existence of an elected student body?
The main purpose of the esteemed student body government is to give the students a way of expressing their needs and desires through an elected body which both has their needs and viewpoint. The student body is the official representation of the students- much like in a republic, the student body is not there to rule, but to carry out and enforce the rules and needs of its students.

2. In your opinion, what are some of the major roles of student government?
Every single position in the student government is important, from the secretary to the president himself. If any one person was less important, then we would not be representing the kind of equal society we so wish to emulate.

3. Do you believe that the student government should cooperate with the office of the Dean, or act as a kind of checks and balances system?
The student body's main ideal is to serve the needs of the 'people', the students, and should that mean supporting or contesting the Dean's decision, whatever is best for the students should be kept first and foremost.

4. How has your student government acted in relation to #3?
We have often written petitions asking for a repeal of some school or Dean decisions- many have worked and many have not.

5. What is the official stance of your student government in regards to political action not directly relevant to the students? ex) Anti-war rallies
I, personally, think it is wonderful for students to take an active part in their country's political system- our student government however does not hold liability for any protests that may take place. Its sole purpose is to deal with university-related issues.

6. Has your SG ever participated in a protest or political action regarding #5?
No.

7. Has your SG ever participated in a violent or illegal political action regarding #5?
No.

8. What is your opinion on #5 ~ #7?
See 5.

9. What is/was your affiliation (university)
University of La Verne, California

 

[15357]

I love you guys. Thanks for the help, everyone (who has replied to this thread)

I really do.

Thanks to everyone, I've more than enough information to start writing the article before the deadline. :E



I'd buy you all alcoholic beverages or something.