Students not so trustee

On Wednesday, Student Government approved a measure to amend the process by which student liaisons to the Board of Trustees are elected. This amendment will take effect only if approved by the student body next fall. The amendment to this election process is as follows: the student liaison, who is currently elected by the students, will now be elected by a special panel comprised of five Student Government members and four students selected by SG.

In the opinion of the Maroon, this change in electoral policy would be for the better, if approved. The election for student liaison will be changed from a glorified popularity contest made by the student population to a sober decision made by those in a position to understand what the student liaison does and should do. Does it not stand to reason that the members of SG, who represent the students, are more qualified than students to choose someone to represent students to the Board of Trustees?

While some might argue that a SG-elected liaison represents no more than the second derivative of what might be called popular opinion, the Maroon thinks that we, as a student body, have proven ourselves unwilling and to a certain extent unqualified to participate in any meaningful way in student government. All this is not to say that the Maroon considers SG a kangaroo court. On the contrary, we say that SG represents us so well that we can in fact trust them to their charge: to elect a student liaison who will faithfully and dutifully represent our interests to the best of their abilities.