There is an element at HU that contains a systematically hidden caste of nontraditional students who have children, wives, husbands, jobs, car payments, mortgages and, like other students, have lives outside of HU’s campus. On a politically correct campus, or a campus where the Provost office was free and unchained to do his/her job, this caste of students who are older, a little more worldly and somewhat experienced would be looked after in a way more intentional as it pertains to planning and executing on campus events, student groups and the ridiculous cost of parking. Nontraditional students are not looking for handouts, but maybe some consideration, collaborations and celebrations in recognition that HU’s campus might be more than a pot smoking, alcohol-driven Saturday night teenage wasteland. If HUSC is to promote unity and cooperation among the students, a very important piece of the equation is missing…the students.

I have not missed a Hamline University Student Congress (HUSC) general assembly meeting since the start of the academic year. Last semester, members of the student body elected me as Senior Representative. I feel I have somewhat of a responsibility to be transparent and informative. The HUSC website explains, “We, the undergraduate student body of Hamline University, operating within the authority granted us by the Board of Trustees, in order to govern ourselves, to broaden the representative character of the student body, to foster high ideals of conduct, to foster traditions, and to promote unity and cooperation among the students, do ordain and establish this Constitution.” But still, I sit patiently wondering at what point will student leadership understand how important their roles are in the broader picture of HU and the real world. No meaningful plans or early timelines have been presented, with the exception of scheduling HU administrators to talk to HUSC about the ambiguous Title IX crap, a misguided plan to create more victims.

While other university student governments reach out to state officials like governors, mayors and state representatives, HUSC has limited itself to the ever so stereotypical asking for permission, or the “I don’t think we can do that,” state of mind. To be perfectly clear, hearing someone say, “This is the way we have always done it,” is troubling and telling on its own – maybe we all should run the other way.  HU students have nobody making any promises and some leadership in HUSC have fallen victim to that all too familiar twinkling-eye gaze they get from doing only what HU administrators tell them to do, which for the most part turns into nothing for the many students, but a little for a few. Even I have been caught off-guard like a deer in the headlights, almost falling for the suggestive voodoo of  mismanaged power constructs; keep in mind, the customer is always right.

The atmosphere on Hamline’s campus is kind of strange these days. It reminds me of election year when local and national politicians are promising voters everything while campaigning to win their respective seats, but no real work is done. While most HU heads and pocketbooks have been turned towards the exercise in the corporate masturbation of replacing a president at a prestigious university, some students feel HUSC has abandoned the needs of the many in favor of butt kissing with HU administrators, much like the HUSC leadership of last year.

Chris Bathurst, a junior at Hamline, has had enough.

Bathurst said, “I went to one HUSC meeting last year and all HUSC talked about was forming a committee to purchase a $6000 couch and giving another $25,000.00 of our money back to Hamline to support the construction of a sports court. I don’t see HUSC or it’s leadership or student representatives pushing the envelope on behalf of students. I’m not going back.”

What Bathurst is talking about is a recorded stigma that happens at many smaller universities and community colleges. It all starts with a misplaced, power-hungry administration that seems to be in total control when it comes to student governments. The student government is not really governed by the students but sets off to meet the recommendations and needs of the administration’s agenda. It’s like operating under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act where student governments have a command construct in relationship with university administrator, similar to a mob boss and local store owners or generals and privates in the Army. If you’re like me,  I would go as far to say the pimp-and-hoe power construct is also an example of underhanded tactics to disrupt any organizing by student leaders, even the ones that don’t know how. All examples show how students can be misdirected as it pertains to their individual political power and the powerful voices they should have on campus.  There is great power in understanding this point alone, but some students experience the cold reality after they leave construct of a university campus.

Being cliquish and non-inclusive is the status quo for many student governments. Fraternities, sororities and honor societies are in some way extremely guilty of one-sided cliquism – don’t get me started talking about race and class from a postcolonial point view as it pertains to this matter – there is not enough room on this page.  HU is not the first to be signified with this status, nor will they be the last. Is fixing a student government impossible? It might be…too many buried bodies to dig up.

In an exposé published in the Weekly Standard by senior political and education reporter Mark Hemingway, he describes the waste, irresponsibility, and petty politics that plague student governments.

Hemingway writes, “Sadly, administrators are often complicit in student government mischief. It allows them to move big-ticket expenses off of their own books and avoid responsibility for many decisions affecting student life. There is a symbiotic relationship between student governments run amok and administrators who are more than willing to turn a blind eye.”

With the $25,000.00 “donation” to the university for the sports court and the consideration to purchase a $6000 couch, which, by the way the disposition of the costly couch was never confirmed, who knows what the next suggestion from the administration will be and how it will be presented to HUSC.

We ought to remember that HUSC is made up of students. While in college, their primary responsibility is learning, not running Hamline or donating to big-ticket items that are mostly crowd-pleasers for HU administrators.  It’s time for some adult supervision and maybe we can get that printing credit for every HU undergrad this year. It’s a step in the right direction.