It’s definitely possible. But right now, its mission should be to serve as the voice of the students, not step on ASMSU’s toes.

MSU Students United has been working toward getting a say in university matters. Members have begun petitioning to stop increasing tuition rates — an issue that ASMSU isn’t fighting for hard enough.

This might not be ASMSU’s fault, since MSU has threatened to withdraw funding in the past if the organization didn’t agree to move funds to on-campus accounts. Either way, many students are unhappy with the short list of accomplishments by the student government and want to see if needs of the students could be met in a different way.

Only a small fraction of students are involved with Students United so far, and it may be too early to tell if it can survive without proper funding and additional support. Ultimately, more supporters are needed for the group to last. Without that, they won’t have the influence or clout needed to stick around.

Having two student government groups is one too many. Every student already pays a tax to ASMSU, and it’s highly unlikely that paying for another group would sit well with the majority. Competing groups almost goes as far as to undermine the purpose of representing students’ interests. We don’t want our student body confused as to who is speaking for us to the higher authorities within the university.

But the source of Students United efforts is genuine. To be effective, people need to know about them. Raising awareness for our student for the group takes time, but it also takes time to enact changes at our institution.

Fear that the new student group won’t be taken seriously is a legitimate concern. It’s new, has less than 70 likes on its Facebook page as of Thursday evening and only about 100 signatures on the petition. On the contrary, ASMSU has years of experience. But the fact that this independent student union was created speaks volumes about how other students view their undergraduate student government.

It’s reasonable to question whether ASMSU will stay loyal to student interests or if it will avoid rocking the boat in fear of losing funding.

Unsatisfied students are taking a stance, and rightfully so. A group that is less concerned with public appearance and more geared towards advocacy for the students could be just what students need.

People who are searching to better the interests of our student population should be welcomed. Students United’s inception goes to show that our student voice is our Achilles’ heel. We need strong advocates so that we will know our administration can hear us out on matters that are most important to us.