Wanted: CSO Leaders
By Editorial Staff
The Santa Clara editorial staff traditionally interviews all Associated Student Government presidential tickets this time of year to endorse the candidate deemed most prepared and qualified to serve as Santa Clara's next student body president.
This year, there were no interviews. There was no decision to be made.
Next year's student body president and vice president Courtney Seymour and Lindsay Gray ran unopposed, which eliminated the need for an official endorsement.
We admire Seymour and Gray for taking responsibility to run for positions which we know require hundreds of hours throughout the school year. We're confident that they will succeed in representing Santa Clara students in a professional way to alumni, board members and university guests. We are encouraged by their platform that looks to stress safety both on and off campus for Santa Clara students.
But regardless of our confidence in their future success, it seems alarming that student voice played no role in their recent victory. It is likely that students may have chosen Seymour and Gray had an election taken place, but we as a campus did not have the luxury of even hearing another campaign platform, as no one else was willing to challenge them.
The top three positions in ASG ran unopposed: Seymour, Gray and new Senate Chair Kanishk Desai. Only two members from both the junior and senior classes ran for senator positions, meaning each class currently has three vacancies.
And the lack of participation or interest doesn't stop at ASG. In fact, the problem persists for all campus Chartered Student Organizations. Santa Clara's four media CSO's – The Santa Clara, The Redwood, KSCU and The Review – had a combined six applicants for the four editor/general manager positions.
In other words, many of the most prestigious on campus student jobs, including those in ASG, were literally handed out to those dedicated enough just to submit the application.
Why are we so concerned? Because unlike the leaders of clubs or Greek institutions, these CSO leaders are the people most often representing the student body with the Board of Trustees, alumni and campus administration. To the world outside of the "Santa Clara bubble," these CSO leaders often become the face of Santa Clara's student community.
And yet few seem to appreciate the numerous leadership opportunities that are literally up for grabs.
What is most disheartening about this problem is that it seems to stem from an overall disinterest among students to get seriously involved in campus life. Many of the CSO's have large staffs of interested students, but then when the opportunity to accept more responsibility rolls around, people scatter.
Perhaps students do not give themselves enough credit for their ability to hold these positions. Certainly, the thought of editing the yearbook or serving as student body president seems like a daunting task. But somebody has to do it, and Santa Clara is full of somebody's who have the ability to lead our CSO's and represent our community outside of campus.
And maybe the lack of interest is really just that: a lack of interest. Many students are here simply to study and eventually get a job; they just aren't interested in getting deeply involved. For other students, there are so many places to get involved on campus, that they prefer to participate in a number of organizations in a smaller role rather than commit themselves primarily to one.
Regardless, the opportunity to lead a student group, especially one as prominent as ASG or KSCU, should be one that Santa Clara students salivate over, not run from. CSO interest is at an all-time low, and unless something changes among student interest, a Santa Clara void of CSO presence looms on the horizon.