Before spring break, the four finalists who will be interviewed by the governor for Ohio University’s student trustee position were selected. OU’s next student trustee won’t be announced until the Leadership Gala in the spring, but I do have a suggestion for the first official act of whomever is chosen:
Resign in protest.
And for that matter, every student trustee in the state of Ohio should.
Why? Not because the student trustees are doing an inherently bad job, but because the whole process of how we select student trustees is entirely undemocratic on multiple levels. Student trustees cannot possibly represent the students at their campuses as long as students do not vote for them and the governor ultimately selects them.
At OU, a small committee composed of students accepts applications for the position, interviews those students, and then sends a list of names on to the governor. Instead, we should have an open election for the position.
The arguments against letting students vote for their student trustees are shallow at best. Some argue that having students vote for their trustees would turn the position into nothing more than a popularity contest.
Though I agree democracy is not perfect, it is vastly preferable to a system in which the student population plays no role in the student trustee’s selection.
What good is a student trustee who can only claim to represent the interests of a handful of people?
There is also the argument that student trustees are supposed to act in the best interests of the state of Ohio, but considering that student tuition dollars bring in more money for the university than State Share of Instruction does, it’s not unreasonable to expect students to have some direct representation.
Finally, there is also the problem that even if we held an election for student trustees, the governor still makes the ultimate decision about who our student trustee is.
On principle, we as students should refuse to participate in a system in which students do not choose their representatives and those representatives do not get a vote. Without that, the only person who seems to benefit from the student trustee position is the student trustee and the rest of the Board of Trustees, who can claim to be consulting students.
Therefore, if the student trustees in the state of Ohio are genuine about wanting to represent students, they should exercise the only real power they have and step down.
Matt Farmer is a senior studying political science and education. Do you think the student trustee position is worthwhile? Tell Matt your thoughts at mf291209@ohiou.edu.
