In ancient Greece, in the city-state of Athens, there were the rowers, who served in the navy, and the soldiers, who fought in the phalanx. Both groups had separate interests. Although the soldiers were typically land owners who provided their own armor and other necessities, the rowers often were lower-class citizens because a strong back was all you needed to join the navy. Regardless of its social standing, each group had its say within the government based simply on the fact that it was a part of society.
At MSU, the common student, whose role is simply to attend classes, has been given access to have a say in the matters of their governance. No longer are all the seats on the Academic Council to be filled by members of ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government.
The council recently opened a number of seats to students, who are being allowed to join on a first-come, first-served basis. That's right, participation in student-leadership groups is not a requisite to be a part of the one-third vote students have on the Academic Council (the other two-thirds is held by faculty).
It's a callback to the Greek form of government, which often has been heralded by historians as the purest form of democracy to ever exist through history. This change will regularly put the common student closer to MSU President Lou Anna Simon, acting Provost John Hudzik and the MSU Board of Trustees - the people who make decisions about how our classes are run and what takes place in them.
Although students will be barred from votes regarding the professional stature of the university, faculty and staff pay and promotion and demotion of faculty, they will be able to provide evidence regarding faculty performance that can be considered in the aforementioned issues. Most importantly, they will have a vote in their own issues.
For example, maybe you're mad that your 3.74 grade in class turned into a 3.5 when the semester ended. This is your chance not only to voice an opinion on MSU's truncated grades policy, but also to perhaps vote to overturn it.
MSU students have a history of complaining about issues and then not acting. Public outcry over the East Lansing City Council's noise violation policy led to hardly any students attending the council's public discussions on campus. And little was accomplished by students who disliked the university's change in its tailgating policies.
Jacqueline Wright, secretary for Academic Governance and an associate professor of nursing said "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink." If that's any indicator of the reputation students have for taking part in university issues then we have a horrible stereotype to overcome.
The chance to participate is being offered at the most basic level - just show up and you're in. Let's get some people to step up who are willing to bring a real student voice to the issues that truly matter to us.
