Student Governance Task Force op-ed

by Kapil Kale
VP Communications emeritus
Chairman, Student Government Task force
(Printed in The Dartmouth)

Frustration with Dartmouth’s student government reached new heights this year. In response, Student Assembly unanimously voted to establish the Student Governance Review Task Force, an all-student committee charged with investigating and presenting solutions to longstanding issues. We began our work this spring, with the goal of improving the representation, efficiency and communication within our school’s standing organizations. Today, we hope to explain the work we are doing, how we are doing it, provide insight into the progress we have made, and invite your opinions into the process.

Our student government structure extends far beyond SA. Each student is assessed a termly student activities fee which is aggregated and given to the Undergraduate Finance Committee for allocation. The UFC is responsible for the oversight and dividing up over $800,000 each year to Programming Board, Student Assembly, Collis Governing Board, the Council on Student Organizations and the four Class Councils.

All these organizations are important components of student governance at Dartmouth. These groups provide the services students need and expect: event funding and programming, regulation of student organizations and a voice and lobbying power with the administration. However, we have found that the organizational structure of the governing bodies creates difficulty in meeting the needs of students.

We seek to identify and improve these crucial aspects of campus life, for individual students and student groups alike. Thus far, we have spoken to administrators and deans, as well as student leaders of our government organizations. We have also conducted our first focus group to solicit input from the student body at-large. Meanwhile, we are also investigating other schools’ governance systems and calling on our own creativity to discover potential solutions. In the coming weeks, we will continue to interview students, organizations, deans and advisors.

An example of a problem we’ve observed so far is that PB, SA, CGB and COSO provide funding for many of the same events, but almost never coordinate their allocations beforehand. One solution is to integrate some of these bodies to simplify the process. Another solution is for the bodies to meet on a regular basis to discuss proposals. This could take the shape of in-person meetings, online discussion boards or shared proposal forms. There are many ideas we have discussed and even more yet to be developed. Over the next weeks, as we engage the leaders of these organizations and the general campus in this discussion, conduct research across the board on the College’s systems, and critically analyze our options, the most effective solution will emerge. Moreover, there are about a dozen of these types of problems �” we plan on using the same thorough methodology for all of them.

A process of reform has no value without two things: transparency and participation. This piece is the first in a series updating the campus on our methods and progress. Additionally, tonight we present to the Student Assembly at 7 p.m. in Carson L01 the details of our initial findings. Transparency is an easy obligation to fulfill. However, we can only open up the channels for your participation to make a contribution.

We encourage you to attend the Assembly meeting. Blitz “Task Force” with your input. Join a focus group. Fill out our upcoming online survey. Make suggestions not only about what is wrong with student government at Dartmouth, but what is right with student government at Dartmouth. The first wave of suggestions from students and administrators has been valuable and appreciated. With your further participation, we are confident that our final report in May will provide the framework for positive, tangible change for Dartmouth’s governing bodies and for you, the students whom they serve.