An un-elected board controls all meaningful levers of power. In order to solidify public support for the regime, sham elections are held to elect “representatives” of the people to voice their interests and concerns. All candidates must be longtime members of the ruling party, the only official party with access to government. Post-election, the elected officials become a rubber-stamp advisory group with no real power. Sounds like an authoritarian, one-party state, right? Nope, just BYUSA elections.
In all seriousness, I realize BYUSA is simply a service organization, not a student government. Why, then, pester the student body to vote for what should be their own internal leadership changes? It seems to underscore the fact that BYU’s administration has no meaningful student interlocutors with whom any constructive dialogue or power-sharing has been established.
Tyler McArthur
South Jordan, Utah
