You may have noticed a small table in the student union distinguishable only by the pair of signs flanking it and inscribed with a promise of “FREE CANDY”. No, that’s not a stranger attempting to lure you into an unmarked van and touch you in your naughty places. It is actually the Union’s attempt to illicit serious comments™ from students on how well the union is serving the student citizen customer. Unfortunately, it appears that the survey is simply a template used from student unions throughout the country. It only asks specific questions which are deemed to be acceptable and the only response is a range of options from “seriously dissatisfied” to “seriously satisfied”.
I doubt that the Union actually understands how patronizing this is to the student body, particularly any that actually have a semblance of democratic inclinations. What I would like to include is a short list of ideas for the student union bosses advisors/administrators, if they are serious about actually receiving student input. No candy required!
1. Stop treating students like children – Yes, too many modern American college students act like children. From drunken frat brats to do nothing stoners to self-centered students of all kinds, our campus is certainly no exception to this trend. An argument can be made for the increasing infantilization of this demographic as technology (and vast exploitation of third world countries!) has resulted in a longer life span and exceedingly comfortable lifestyle for this group. This is not to imply that all American college students live “exceedingly comfortable lifestyles”, in fact there are many that certainly don’t, but in comparison to many other Americans this is not an unfair characterization in regards to most students.
However, this does not mean that universities should accommodate that! It should be seriously asked why the first floor of the student union looks more like a shopping mall than a student community center. It should be asked why we would need a video game store or a candy store on campus. The union and the student body should seriously ponder on why in the last semester there has been more activity in the union dedicated to the Nintendo cult (honestly, what is with the white robes?), alienware, and “Konami U” than dedicated to cultivating student activism, academics, culture, and community. It’s great that the union is so gracious to allow student groups to set up on their front lawn when businesses don’t want it, but it would be nice to see the union being as interested in student activity than in making more money to supposedly invest in student activity.
2. Get out of the way – One of the reasons that you’re probably finding it difficult to get student input is not simply that you are treating the students like children, but that most students don’t feel any attachment to the union. People tend to feel a lot more connected to endeavors in which they actually have some control over, and I don’t mean by providing “input”. I am referring to an actual vote on what goes on in the union.
I know that this is a radical idea for America’s modern “libertarian” free market fiefdom, so let me put this in terms even the most ardent Paultard could grasp. Our public university is not a capitalist business, regardless of what the bosses may think. Let’s think about our founding father for a second, remember that old slogan of theirs, “No taxation without representation”? Students should demand the same thing, “No tuition without representation”. Not only would such a student democracy increase student involvement, it would go a long way to combating increasing infantilization, and create better citizens. Administrators would still have a very necessary place in assisting students in advising student leaders and running the day to day operations. In the long run the administration would benefit from the satisfaction of better fulfilling the development of the student body, not to mention having more assistance from the students in operating the union.
This point cannot be emphasized enough. Letting students vote on who is awarded contracts, what union space is used for, what policies the union should have, etc. is not only a moral directive of a democratic society, but the only effective way of increasing student involvement. No amount of free food, shirts, candy, and assorted crap can make up for the feeling of being actively engaged and responsible for the direction of one’s own community.
3. Fuck the supreme court, corporations are not people – It should be added that corporations aren’t students either. Unless students really want them to occupy virtually one-third of the union, which is something this author is unconvinced of, there should be serious reconsideration to the never ending expansion of businesses in what is theoretically owned by students.
Space is becoming an ever rarer commodity by the day in the union. Student groups have less space to store materials, hold meetings, and hold events. These groups shouldn’t be marginalized by businesses simply because the Chamber of Commerce has more representation appointed to the student body than actual students.
Current student leaders with an unnerving tendency to place the concerns of the business community and the status quo over students argue that this is necessary to fund more student activities. However, this argument falls flat not only because students have little actual authority over what happens in the union, but also because the few events that SGA approves, like “Put Down ur Cell Phone”, are typically populated predominantly by the aforementioned student leaders. This doesn’t even mention the obvious fallacy in thinking that leads to the conclusion that crowding out student activity with handouts to businesses to fund the increasing expansion of said businesses somehow leads to more student activity.
4. Three “ethnically diverse” sets of shitty food is still shit – Having places that sell food in the union is not necessarily a bad thing. However, when the majority of your choices are fast food establishments of either the “Mexican”, “Italian”, “Asian”, or unmistakably American variety, that isn’t necessarily a good thing. While the union has taken steps forward by providing a halal eatery and a salad bar, there is still far too many overpriced shit stands crowding up the union.
This author would encourage students to push for healthier food. Americans are gluttonous and unhealthy as it is, do we really want to encourage this by having an overabundance on fast food places? Would it really kill us to have healthier food that we aren’t encouraged to shove into our gullets while on the run to the next thing to do. I’d argue that it probably would kill us not to.
Also being a vegan is not really an option in the union. It would be nice to see at least one place that actually accommodates those who are conscientious objectors to factory farming. Orlando has seen a rapid increase in the number of successful restaurants that use no animal products. It would be nice to see UCF follow the Orlando’s lead on this.
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