There’s this service organization at BYU called BYUSA. It’s not a student government.
BYUSA is mostly in charge of arranging service opportunities, promoting clubs and organizing dances and parties
BYUSA would really like students to be more involved on campus
But most students are apathetic
The only time they care is during election week, when the candidates campaign all over campus and social media
And students get a little hostile towards the BYUSA reps who stop them on their way to class
Every candidate is working for the same organization, so they all have similar ideas of what campus needs, and the same limited powers
As a service association, BYUSA can’t actually change campus policy or legislate
No, they can’t change the honor code, and no, they can’t build any parking structures
Instead, this year candidates plan to get Wi-Fi campus-wide, put vending machines in the library and create an All-Arts Pass
However, according to this op-ed, installing Wi-Fi is time-consuming and expensive, so there’s only so much BYUSA can do
BYUSA does serve as a liaison between students and the administration
And who doesn’t like joining clubs and going to dances?
Service is great, after all, and involvement on campus and in the community could lead to opportunities in the future
In the end, it probably doesn’t matter who the new president is, as students’ lives stay the same, for the most part
Maybe students just think BYUSA shouldn’t make such a big deal out of the elections, since it isn’t actually a governing body
Oh well. May the best candidate win!