Chris Clemens still feels Ball State students did not get the choice they deserved this spring.
The junior recalls the controversial Student Government Association presidential race between Jayson Manship and Nick Loving in Spring 2003 and the heated race between Ben Tietz and Manship last year.
So when he read that sophomore Steve Geraci's "Team Us" was the only presidential slate this year, he created his own slate to create some competition. Clemens' last-minute slate missed the deadline, and Geraci's unopposed slate now leads SGA.
"None of the students could vote," Clemens said. "There was no vote taken of any style. I really want students to be able to pick who is going to lead them in the next year."
But the question is whether students will actually vote.
Although almost one-fourth of Ball State students voted in last year's highly contested election -- a record high for the past 10 years. That percent has generally been in the low 'teens. Elections for individual senators are supposed to take place each spring but haven't for years because not enough students are available to compete for seats. Even though SGA now allows students to apply for seats any time of the year, 26 out of 59 seats (44 percent) were still open at the end of Tietz's administration in March.
Ball State's SGA is similar to student governments nationwide, where the average voter turnout is 2 percent and governments are dealing with a lack of student involvement during slate races and year-round. Experts say the decline in student government participation shows that students feel their government is ineffective, they feel SGA is irrelevant to their lives and they feel disenfranchised. Their lack of involvement is an example of social disengagement among today's young adults -- a disengagement that might discourage university administrators from listening to students and eventually take away their voice. But all this could change if student governments begin to do things that are tangible.
"Students generally don't have a lot of real power or authority, so many students don't see the point of getting involved if they can't get anything done," Joe Losco, Ball State political science professor, said.
'HORRIFICALLY INEPT'
Butch Oxendine, executive director of the American Student Government Association, said many student governments are "horrifically inept" because they focus on rising college tuition rates and other large issues over which they have limited control. They should be addressing and promoting university issues that directly affect students, he said.
"The average student is worried about the prices of books, enough courses being offered, being able to study in the library during exam period late at night," Oxendine said. "The average student is worried about things that matter to them ... Student government typically doesn't do something that helps their fellow students, that is relevant to them."
Although Ball State's Student Senators have focused on local student issues during the past few years, some members are simply unmotivated to do the research and networking necessary to draft legislation that will effectively address these issues, Tietz said.
"They just don't see change happening as fast as they would like it," he said. "They give up without it going forth because they feel it will be a lot more work."
During the past year, however, Tietz said his administration accomplished tasks that continue to address student concerns. For example, professors' names are now available online when students register for semester courses, and Muncie Mayor Dan Canan is beginning to address one of the administration's campaign platforms from more than a year ago by considering removing 72 of the city's 81 "no turn on red" signs.
"It's really neat to see the hard work we did during our administration to continue and to continue to make a difference even when we're out of office," Tietz said. "I think that speaks to what SGA can do if people in office are willing to work hard."
SHOWING RELEVANCE
As SGA strives to dispel its reputation for being ineffective, members are also trying to show students that the organization is relevant.
"We very often have uncontested races," he said. "That further proves to me that they're not considered relevant. Being a student government president has a lot of perks, and if you have only one student running, that's pretty bad."
In most cases, college students don't see how college government elections affect them because they are not yet fully integrated into their communities and have other more important concerns, such as getting through classes and finding a job, Losco said. As they grow older, however, they will begin to understand the important place government has in their lives, he said.
Tietz said SGA needs to better communicate with students to show them not only the power of the student government but also the average student's influence in what it can accomplish. Many students simply don't care about SGA because they feel disenfranchised, like their vote does not matter or their concerns are disregarded, Tietz said. If students, however, were more informed about SGA and could see they do have a voice, they would definitely become more interested, he said.
"A lot of students are so far away from SGA that they really don't think it affects them or can affect them, so they don't feel any inclination to vote," Tietz said. "If more students voted, SGA would be able to do more."
IMPROVING THE PROCESS
Now chief of staff under SGA President Geraci, Clemens said he is working to improve the advertising of presidential slate elections and of the nomination process each spring -- a first step in trying to draw a few more student candidates and voters to races and showing the student body how important their input is at the university. Clemens is also searching for students to occupy empty seats on the University Senate, which will provide another avenue for the student voice.
Tietz said drawing more attention to Student Senate, Student Judicial Court and University Senate will increase awareness among Ball State's students. But SGA's biggest tool for ultimately attracting and engaging students is addressing worthwhile student issues and making sure students know about it so they can get involved, he said.
Other student governments around the nation have developed scientific surveys of thousands of students with the help of professors, which target student interests and highlight the changes they would like to see in their governments and universities, Oxendine said.
And Ball State is very capable of doing that, too, he said.
"Your school has all the potential to be great," Oxendine said. "It has funding opportunities, a number of potential members and people who can serve. It's a matter of doing an analysis and changing that."
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