The Association of Student Governments has new leadership but looks to be up to the same old tricks.
After two years of leadership under President Atul Bhula, the association elected Western Carolina University’s Cameron Carswell and Alecia Page to lead the organization next year.
Under Bhula, the organization suffered from weak organization and was impotent on issues of student concern, namely tuition. Solving the association’s organization and reputation problems will and must be issue number one for Carswell.
To be successful, Carswell will need to move quickly to craft a structure and vision for the association that encourages unity and promotes advocacy across its 17 campuses.
In short, she needs to give delegates, like UNC’s Student Body President Will Leimenstoll, a reason to keep coming back. But so far, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen.
Hours before being elected at last weekend’s meeting, Carswell and other delegates voted to ultimately give herself and other officers a 10 percent pay raise. Thanks to Carswell’s hard work, she will now earn $6,050 as the association’s president.
Increasing officer stipends after years of poor performance is the wrong approach and a poor use of student funds. Carswell should have known better.
Each year, students pay $1 to ASG to advocate on behalf of students to the UNC-system Board of Governors.
It’s your money and it’s supposed to advance your interests, not the wallets of your fellow students — but that’s exactly what happened.
