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The structure of student government
AS overview
Understanding the functions of the student government and the challenges it faces
By BILL J. PERRY
Most Fresno State students don’t get involved in school politics and only half of them are aware the university has a student government, according to a recent campus survey.
This trend worries leaders of Associated Students — the official name of the student government — who say they’re doing their best to get students involved and keep them informed of what’s happening on campus, particularly student government elections.
Freshman Christina Nijskens and AS vice president Brent Hansen help answer Julie Padalino’s question about where to get the New York Times newspaper stand locations on campus. Photo by Joseph Hollak |
Molly Fagundes, AS president, said low student involvement in campus affairs is a problem the student government is well aware of. “We are always trying to increase voter turnout,” she said. “We need to get more students involved.”
But the problem isn’t unique to Fresno State, said Jennifer Reimer, AS vice president of finance, who oversees a yearly budget of about $550,000.
“I think it’s a constant struggle faced at many campuses,” she said. “Even in society as a whole, there’s low turnout in national elections.”
Fagundes said the student government has an election committee whose goal is to spark more student participation and to keep students informed of important issues that affect them. And although the numbers may be small, she said there’s a cross-section of students on the government body to sufficiently represent issues and reflect student makeup at Fresno State.
“As far as diversity and fresh ideas, come to a Senate meeting,” Fagundes said. “That will give you an idea of the students involved. We have all colleges represented and a variety of ethnic groups.”
The AS Web site at www.csufresno.edu/studentgovt/lists immediate openings for AS committees, and university committees, as well as for project directors and lobbyists for student issues. The Web site urges students to get involved, and an application is available online.
A survey, conducted last semester on behalf of The Collegian, found 62 percent of students said they never get involved in school politics. Another 25 percent said they rarely get involved.
The survey, conducted by graduate students under the direction of mass communication and journalism professor Tamyra Pierce, polled 439 Fresno State students.
Fagundes said part of the problem behind low political interest on campus stems from the type of students who attend Fresno State.
“I think you need to look at campus demographics,” she said. “Over 50 percent work and don’t have time to get involved in extra-curricular activities. They have work, families, class commitments — it’s challenging.”
Brent Hansen, AS executive vice president, agreed with Fagundes.
“Fresno State is a commuter school,” Hansen said. “It’s tough for students to allocate time in their schedule. A high percentage of students commute more than 15 miles a day, which is tough for them to get involved in student government.”
Just 1 percent of the students questioned in The Collegian’s survey indicated they always get involved in school politics, and only 2 percent said they often get involved.
Despite those numbers, Fagundes said the student government plays an important role in helping students, whether they are aware of it or not.
“The purpose of [Associated Students] is to provide programs and services that benefit students, to make sure students’ rights and voices are heard regarding student policy issues,” she said.
Other AS goals include administering student insurance programs, funding campus activities and events, assisting clubs and organizations and financing services such as the campus multicultural center, according to the AS Web site.
Some of the issues AS has decided in the past involving student funds include the intramural program; Pick-A-Prof, a Web site for students to rate and to see ratings of college professors; and the readership program, which endeavors to interest students in daily news by offering free copies of USA Today, The Fresno Bee and The New York Times at selected locations around campus.
AS is led by three executives: Fagundes, Hansen and Reimer. In addition, AS has a senate body of 15 members — eight senators representing the various campus colleges and seven at-large senators.
Each post is for a one-year term from June 1 to May 31.
Last year, 1,826 ballots were cast in the student government elections out of nearly 20,000 students.
Though the turnout was a seven-year high, it was still only 9 percent of the student body. Other elections often draw smaller numbers, such as February’s Health Center referendum, which drew only 489 votes.
When a proposal is brought before the Senate, a committee is assigned to discuss and investigate the matter and to see how it would benefit the students as a whole. Afterward, the matter is discussed and put to a vote at a regular AS meeting, held biweekly, Thursdays at 5 p.m. in the University Student Union.
Details of this process are outlined on the AS Web site under articles and policies.
“Every student should be interested in student government,” Fagundes said. “We talk about fee increases and programs that enhance the collegiate experience. We make sure their voices are heard. This is an outlet.”
Another reason to be interested in the workings of student politics is because the money that’s used to operate AS comes from fees that most students pay, Hansen said.
“We get $15 per student each semester, which is about $550,000 a year,” he said, referring to the AS portion of the $29 student body fee.
Though he understands why many students aren’t able to be more involved, Hansen said each person who attends Fresno State has a vested interest in the goings-on of student government.
“Every student has been affected by programs we fund,” Hansen said. “We represent all 21,000 students on campus on all sorts of issues.”
However, Reimer said the best promotional tool AS has may be the actions of the present administration.
“We just have to keep doing beneficial things on campus and hopefully, through that, people will see how the student government helps them and they’ll want to get involved.”
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