Some people think two ASMSU student representatives sitting on seven of the university’s 20 committees with student seats hold a monopoly on student influence at MSU. But the two students said they want to see more student involvement, and if they weren’t there, no students would sit on such committees.
Matthew Caramagno, ASMSU’s external vice chairperson, sits on four of the committees in Academic Governance, and Eric Hinojosa, ASMSU’s Academic Assembly chairperson, sits on five. While critics say ASMSU controls all of the student representation on campus and wants it to stay that way, Caramagno noted he and Hinojosa are the only ones willing to do the work and have the available time.
Academic Assembly is always looking for more people to appoint as student representatives in different committees, such as Academic Council, where students make up one-third of the council or more than 30 seats. This year they have about 22 student representatives so far — a year ago, there were only seven.
MSU is lucky to have two students willing to take so much time out of their academic and social lives to get involved with academic issues on campus, but the burden shouldn’t fall solely on them. Caramagno said he would love it if he only sat on one or two committees because it would create the potential for a more diverse student voice. These two would likely also have a stronger impact if they only sat on one or two committees because they would be able to really commit their energy and resources to a few issues, instead of stretching themselves thin over so many different committees.
Any student can sit on these committees, and anyone can become a student representative. Everyone has the power to represent the student body and push for the issues students care about. Since these committees really do affect academics and university life — anything from time off for religious observances to whether MSU will implement a fall break — students should take advantage of that power and get involved.
The lack of student representation isn’t completely the student body’s fault. ASMSU needs to be clear about how students can get involved, and it needs to advertise the need for student representatives more.
If ASMSU does want more student involvement, it should start reaching out on campus in an eye-catching, informative way. It needs to illustrate just how important these committees’ work is to the average student’s experience at MSU. With more than 40,000 students on campus, ASMSU shouldn’t be having a problem finding people to fill 30 seats on academic committees.
Diversity is not just about skin color or religion, and these committees need fresh, new viewpoints and student voices to muster up new ideas.
There’s the possibility for extensive student representation at every level — MSU is unique in its willingness to engage students and to really consider student ideas and input. So e-mail Caramagno at caramag2@msu.edu, check out www.asmsu.msu.edu, visit room 307 in the Student Services Building and start voicing your ideas.
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