Alexis de Tocqueville may have said that in a democracy, people get what they deserve. But for that argument to apply, one must be talking about an actual democracy to begin with.
While FUSA may be a government, it is far from a democracy. Fairfield students are part of a private institution controlled by the administration. With rules articulated in the student handbook, the students turn aside the rights held in a typical democracy.
The University decides what rights students have and also hold the right to change those rights at anytime. The University does allow freedom of press, speech and legal representation, but all three of those rights have been shown to come with caveats, based on recent issues.
FUSA is more of a pawn of the Fairfield administration, one that has the power to enact change and strives to do that, but often, in the eyes of the students it represents, falls short.
That is not to say that FUSA is worthless or unnecessary. That is also not to say that the members of FUSA do not provide an important role on campus or do not put in an excessive amount of their time. Unfortunately, FUSA is constrained by the administration and the situation it exists in.
In fact, FUSA has improved steadily in the four years I have been at Fairfield in providing concerts and events that appeal to the broad student body. But as a decision-making, democratic body, it still has a long way to go.
Unless the University is willing to give more power to the students who pay thousands of dollars a year to attend the school, that change will never come.
It is unfair to blame the students as a whole, because there is little they can do about it.
At Fairfield, sit-ins and protests are often talked about, but rarely followed through upon. FUSA may have attempted to protest the parking situation, but the publicity for that event was not there. And how could one expect it to be when the administration that made the parking decisions is overseeing FUSA?
Everything that is posted or distributed on campus has to be approved by the University, creating an unusual lack of freedom of speech that is rarely seen on a college campus around the nation.
FUSA does its best to get the student’s voice heard and much of the credit for that has to be given to current president Jeff Seiser, who in his two years at the helm of the organization ensured that at least one student would be present on every committee on campus. But in the end the students do not have enough true power. It is time for that to change.
It is not impossible for a student organization to have independence. At The Mirror, we decide our own budget and have full control over our organization. Other Universities even have student government organizations that are completely independent and decide their own budget.
Why not let students, who will not only be at Fairfield for four years but will also be forever tied to the University and will eventually donate money to it, decide the future of the institution, at least in some way. Let FUSA vote on whether or not a new building should be created. Let FUSA decide how much money should be spent on a concert versus parking changes. And truly listen to that voting.
The academic council has the power to force change and are respected by the administration. Their advice is rarely ignored. Put the same trust in the students who make up a large majority on campus.
FUSA Senate will never replace the Board of Trustees and the FUSA president will not take over the roles of the University President. Both those positions play important roles, but it is time for them to listen more to the students and the direction that they want to take the University in.
The students know better what they and future generations will want the University to be like, more than someone who was in college 20 years ago. Listen more to what presidents like Seiser and those he appoints to committees have to say. That’s also not to say Fairfield’s administration never makes the right decisions, because more often than not it does.
Maybe if FUSA had real power, more students would be willing to get involved and that would improve the University overall.
Until then, most students will continue to ignore FUSA elections and Senate meetings and those who choose to participate will be like a pawn: exposed and nearly powerless.
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