Thursday, July 05, 2007
Maybe it is a toothpaste
It looks like our beloved student government may be considering shelling out a thousand dollars a year to join the "American Student Government Association," run by a Butch Oxendine (noted for Googling purposes). Let's take a look at how stupid this organization seems to be, first glancing at their how can ASGA help public universities page.
YOU are a taxpayer and a constituent of your institution. YOU are the reason your institution exists, and it will be our pleasure to connect you with your peers, and to serve as a resource as you navigate the complex landscape that exists in public higher education.
Did you know that most state constitutions provide explicit direction to your elected representatives regarding the role of higher education? Did you know that as a public college or university, the financial documents and even the salaries of institutional employees are all public information? Are you aware that most public institutions are governed by boards of regents or trustees who are appointed by your governor?
These are just a few of the important realities that can shape your approach in setting a direction for your organization. By knowing the information available to you and accessing the resources you can tap into, you can become a collaborative partner in determining the focus of your college or university. ... Umm... is that what the AGSA will do? Point out the obvious? We're governed by a Board of Regents, eh? Sounds like an excellent value for thousands of dollars. Let's take a closer look at those member benefits.
Databases. An hour of consulting. Oooh, access to a password-protected site somewhere. Sounds exciting. What are some reasons to join?
ASGA will help you prove that Student Government actually DOES something at your school! Well, I won't dispute the need, but so far they haven't said anything which remotely suggests they can help accomplish this goal.
ASGA will give you morale support. Good to know. What I'm really curious about, though, is whether they can provide moral support.
You'll get member-only discounts on speakers, conferences, and more. I point this one out just to make sure everyone is aware of what kind of organization this is. You can read about another such organization, which tries to sell real estate books, here.
Finally, an interesting detail that suggests that the ASGA approach isn't really suited for our student union is located on the dues page:
Your membership will include all officers, members, and advisors of your Student Government organization. All members, officers, and advisors will get their own passwords to access ASGA resources. There is no limit on the number of members in your group who may have access to ASGA. Auburn University, for example, has 100 SGA members, officers, and volunteers-- and all 100 have their own usernames and passwords to access ASGA resources. Wow, 100! With their own usernames and passwords! Unheard of! No, the interesting thing here is that there are some 30,000 members of our Student Government association, since we're a union of sorts. The fact that they're trying to impress us with a hundred suggests that they aren't really suited to our kind of system.
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