BYUSA Elections: Your Farcical Entertainment For The Year
Every year around this time many students suffer from overwhelming boredom and complete studying burnout, and luckily for those students every year BYUSA comes through in full flying colors in their goal to provide students with activities and entertainment throughout the year and thus relieve the stress and pressure that students feel. They provide a beautiful activity that can entertain and make people laugh like no other, and make people forget their winter depression. “Just what is this miraculous activity?” you ask? You haven’t been able to guess it yet? Why it’s BYUSA President Elections!
Yes every year when you think you couldn’t possibly go on any further, up come these candidates in these elections, with their prancing and their preening and their kowtowing to people of every state, running around campus just hoping to shake everybody’s hand.
“Hi there! How are you doing? Feel my firm handshake - there - doesn’t that make you think that I would be an able leader and would sincerely represent your issues in the University? Yes - that’s right - I care, about you! I promise you with all sincerity that I will stand firmly in whatever metaphorical chalk circle that I draw for myself!”
And they shove a flyer into your hand talking vaguely about how they will fight vigorously and strenuously to make sure that YOU Mister Average Joe or Miss/Misses Average Jane Student will be firmly represented by them to the university, and will make sure that your needs are met and voiced in University Meetings the whole year round.
And then once they’re elected they drop off the face of the planet, and the only thing that you, The Average Student, ever see or hear about them is an occasional article in the newspaper written by them on how the university is doing well and the students are well and the teachers are happy and everybody is just peachy and that because of their (the constant vigilance BYU is a state of happiness.
Luckily this year we have an article from someone on the inside, BYUSA Vice President (former BYUSA Vice President by the time you will have read this article) Max Hunsaker. Let us delve into some of what he has to say now.
“Over the past three years I have worked with each student body president and can agree that some promises have not been fulfilled.”
Yes, this is very true, albeit a bit of an understatement. Since my days of a freshman in 1996 I have heard many promises by BYUSA and so far the only one to come to pass is: The Cougar Eat now accepts debit cards as a legal form of currency. We students do not blame this on the Presidency, for we know that they would dearly like to bring changes to pass, but they have very little power to do so.
What is the function of the Presidency anyway? When University people are thinking of making changes in policies are they required to report to the BYUSA President first? Before the Bookstore implemented their new buyback policy did they first run up to the BYUSA President and say, “Excuse me Mister/Madam President, we must have your opinion on this policy before we put it into effect!” Or perhaps the Route Y people went to the Presidency and asked for their concordance with the idea of fining students $25.00 for not updating their personal information? Of course they didn’t! Would they do it in the future? Of course not! Why should they? The BYUSA Presidency has no power to do anything, no actual sway in matters of actual policy changes. They have as much power to effect change in this university as cute little squirrels and chipmunks do to stop construction companies from tearing down their homes to build human homes. Would you listen to a squirrel if he asked you not to tear down a tree?
Next quote by dear old Max: “I am waiting for the day that students stop blaming BYUSA for the actions of people they themselves elected.
Are all BYUSA people so out of touch with the students? We ‘students’ or ‘civilians’ don’t mourn your actions but rather your lack of ability to take action! What does BYUSA actually do for the university anyway? “ Last semester alone, more than 33,000 students attended the activities provided by the association.” This is all fine and dandy and you all deserve gold stars for your efforts, but why should we average ‘students’ care when you’re going to pick a new BYUSA President? Why should you represent us as a student body? Why should we not elect instead one of the hardworking janitors, who have served more than 11,000,000 students per semester in restroom services alone, to represent us? What better way to show our gratitude for a job well done!
And what better way to show our gratitude to BYUSA in future elections than by nobody voting at all.
Yes every year when you think you couldn’t possibly go on any further, up come these candidates in these elections, with their prancing and their preening and their kowtowing to people of every state, running around campus just hoping to shake everybody’s hand.
“Hi there! How are you doing? Feel my firm handshake - there - doesn’t that make you think that I would be an able leader and would sincerely represent your issues in the University? Yes - that’s right - I care, about you! I promise you with all sincerity that I will stand firmly in whatever metaphorical chalk circle that I draw for myself!”
And they shove a flyer into your hand talking vaguely about how they will fight vigorously and strenuously to make sure that YOU Mister Average Joe or Miss/Misses Average Jane Student will be firmly represented by them to the university, and will make sure that your needs are met and voiced in University Meetings the whole year round.
And then once they’re elected they drop off the face of the planet, and the only thing that you, The Average Student, ever see or hear about them is an occasional article in the newspaper written by them on how the university is doing well and the students are well and the teachers are happy and everybody is just peachy and that because of their (the constant vigilance BYU is a state of happiness.
Luckily this year we have an article from someone on the inside, BYUSA Vice President (former BYUSA Vice President by the time you will have read this article) Max Hunsaker. Let us delve into some of what he has to say now.
“Over the past three years I have worked with each student body president and can agree that some promises have not been fulfilled.”
Yes, this is very true, albeit a bit of an understatement. Since my days of a freshman in 1996 I have heard many promises by BYUSA and so far the only one to come to pass is: The Cougar Eat now accepts debit cards as a legal form of currency. We students do not blame this on the Presidency, for we know that they would dearly like to bring changes to pass, but they have very little power to do so.
What is the function of the Presidency anyway? When University people are thinking of making changes in policies are they required to report to the BYUSA President first? Before the Bookstore implemented their new buyback policy did they first run up to the BYUSA President and say, “Excuse me Mister/Madam President, we must have your opinion on this policy before we put it into effect!” Or perhaps the Route Y people went to the Presidency and asked for their concordance with the idea of fining students $25.00 for not updating their personal information? Of course they didn’t! Would they do it in the future? Of course not! Why should they? The BYUSA Presidency has no power to do anything, no actual sway in matters of actual policy changes. They have as much power to effect change in this university as cute little squirrels and chipmunks do to stop construction companies from tearing down their homes to build human homes. Would you listen to a squirrel if he asked you not to tear down a tree?
Next quote by dear old Max: “I am waiting for the day that students stop blaming BYUSA for the actions of people they themselves elected.
Are all BYUSA people so out of touch with the students? We ‘students’ or ‘civilians’ don’t mourn your actions but rather your lack of ability to take action! What does BYUSA actually do for the university anyway? “ Last semester alone, more than 33,000 students attended the activities provided by the association.” This is all fine and dandy and you all deserve gold stars for your efforts, but why should we average ‘students’ care when you’re going to pick a new BYUSA President? Why should you represent us as a student body? Why should we not elect instead one of the hardworking janitors, who have served more than 11,000,000 students per semester in restroom services alone, to represent us? What better way to show our gratitude for a job well done!
And what better way to show our gratitude to BYUSA in future elections than by nobody voting at all.
posted by CT at 9:08 PM
3 Comments:
im totally not voting. I got called for some kind of survey, and they asked me if I was planning on voting in the election. I told them NO!!
The elections are, indeed, bland and useless. BYUSA is more of a club than an organization involving the entire student body, and perhaps it would be more prudent (and less annoying) for their president to be elected only by members of said organization. They do set up a few decent activities, but yes, that is the limit of their power - hence the candidates, trying to curry favor with people trying to decide what their favorite color is, promise to make sweeping policy changes on campus, changes over which no student has any control whatsoever. I think that's why freshmen are the more frequent voters - they don't know that yet. Down with the popularity contest - I need to pad my own resume, not some schmoe in a suit's.
I agree that BYUSA elections are a sham. I actually bought a shirt from Righteous Fashion.com that says "BYUSA - Padding Resumes Since 1988". It looks just like the old BYUSA shirts and I love it. Not that I don't think BYUSA is a great service organization, but they aren't a student government by any stretch of the imagination.
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