On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, the University Students’ Council held a special session of the council in order to debate whether the organization should change its entire structure of governance. The vote passed unanimously.
Finally.
Now I can already feel the average reader squirming on the inside as they comprehend the first paragraph. “USC? Student governmental policy? I’m still hungover from St. Paddy’s,” you say.
Well bear with me — the meaning of this change in governance will hopefully mean the student populace as a whole actually gives two bits about what their elected representatives are doing. I’m not saying students who aren’t politically interested are suddenly going to throw themselves at the USC with reckless abandon, but one look at the size of various political clubs on campus shows potential.
Still with me? Good.
I’ve covered the USC for several years for the Gazette, and over that time the main criticism I’ve had for the organization has been how absolutely ineffective it is.
As it stands, your average USC councillor does not make more than a token effort to communicate with fellow undergraduates. This often meant councillors – who were elected to represent students – snooze their way through meetings and let the executive ¬– who are internally elected by council – dictate the agenda.
Occasionally, you would see a councillor bring forward a motion – Fred Wu and the eventual banning of cigarette advertising from Mustang Alley is one case – but these examples were few and far between. These motions also had the added effect of normally putting the council and the executive at odds.
While I always enjoyed sitting back with popcorn and watching the sparks fly during meetings, part of me remembered this organization collects hundreds of thousands in student fees every year. At that point the dysfunction switched from being amusing to aggravating.
Thankfully, with the new plans for the USC on their way to being implemented, many of these problems can be overcome.
First of all, in the new USC the executive will no longer be able to bring motions towards council – a change that will hopefully end the practice of the executive doing everything with council following blindly. While it may have been ironic to see vice president university affairs Dan Moulton argue to end the practice he has taken so much advantage of over the past year, at least there was a recognition on the part of this year’s executive that things had to change.
The next change, and certainly the biggest, is the decision to create a strong separation of powers: the general council will be given much more power to update policies, bylaws and set the direction of the USC’s “big picture.” Meanwhile, the executive will be much more focused on their portfolios and day-to-day operations – a change that makes much more sense considering the annual turnover of the executive.
Finally, and most controversially, there will be an “external” board of directors, which will take on responsibilities like recommending the approval of the budget and having the authority to borrow funds and manage the USC’s investments. They’ll also stick around for more than a year – so they have time to see some of their projects through.
What all this does, in effect, is make the USC function properly. The council, elected by students, legislates on their peers’ behalf. The executive takes care of the mundane day-to-day stuff, and we have a group of nine ex-Western students (10 years removed) who can take care of the long-term stuff.
Of course, it’s too early to start laying accolades at the feet of the USC. As much as I am hopeful this governance change will turn the organization into one students actually care about, I also have complete faith the USC will find some way to screw this change up. Here’s hoping they prove me wrong.