With us in mind

Like some of my Indiana Daily Student colleagues, last week I was surprised to hear only two tickets are running for the IU Student Association elections. In years past, the IUSA election seasons have been much more, let's say, colorful, than this year's looks to be.\nFor all freshmen (and those who have never paid attention to IUSA before), I would like to offer a bit of insight into the significance of this oh-so-fun two-week period when tickets will do almost anything to win. My advice is: Don't get your hopes up. Candidates will make promises and tickets will get you hyped up about how much students can make a difference in University affairs. \nBut believe me, this is not so.\nCall me a pessimist, but IUSA just can't do much. I don't hold anything against people involved with IUSA, nor do I think they're selfish or naïve. My problem is with the institution's original purpose -- students taking time out of their lives to represent the student voice.\nIU is run by people who often forget about the student perspective, even though nearly every decision they make affects us. Just like faculty, staff and schools have bodies to represent them in official University business, students have representatives, too. They sit on committees and offer our perspective on issues like tuition and the athletics fee. What's so wrong with this? It shouldn't be our job to look out for us.\nWe all decided to attend IU not just because it's the best place to pursue a well-rounded, excellent education, but because we believed our best interest as students is a top priority for the administration and trustees. I'm not asking for administrators to read our minds about our preferences on issues, but to require students to represent their peers because officials can't seem to keep students in mind is detrimental to our education.\nSimply put, students do not have the time to run the University. We read, on average, a textbook per week, not to mention papers and other class work. We also have households and lives. In a country where a college degree is becoming a basic minimum, we are forced to find other areas to stand out: working part-time jobs, finding internships and volunteering. We nearly kill ourselves just to get a job after graduation. Is it too much to ask for our University to remember us during decision-making? I guess so. \nInstead, we are forced to ask some of our peers to set aside precious college time to represent our perspective in institutional affairs. Running a university is not our job. IUSA is a great idea, and I admire my fellow students who strive to represent us. But we need a different kind of representation -- one measured with intent. We need a university that has us in its best interest regardless of how many students sit on committees. Student presence shouldn't be measured in numbers. Rather, it's a state of mind. Will IU ever have it? It hasn't in my four years, and don't expect these next two weeks to change anything.