Akash Kurupassery is the former President of Emory's College Council.

When I first became College Council (CC) President, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to serve in student government. I had previously served as the President of the Residence Hall Association (RHA), and through that position, worked tirelessly to ensure that the organization functioned during the COVID-19 pandemic. I chose to run for College Council President because I believed that CC was uniquely primed to address the biggest issues facing campus. I came in with a platform dedicated to revolutionizing the college experience, and I hoped to hit the ground running. Instead, I was faced with a broken system in desperate need of repair. There are many issues that need to be fixed, but these are two of the key problems the incoming student government leaders must fix in the upcoming year.

First, student government has become disconnected from the wishes of the student body as a whole. There currently exist very few ways for the student body to interact with and receive information about the black box that is student government. Every Emory student must have an easy and accessible way to ensure that their voice can be heard. To enact this, student government leaders must go beyond the “town hall” format and meet students where they are at. From regular email surveys to having students vote on important issues that affect them, students should have the opportunity to engage in the important conversations that affect their Emory experience.

Every Emory student must also have access to the facts of what exactly student government is doing. In the past, the Wheel has taken on this role, and they have used their expertise of student government to hold them to the highest standards. Sadly, this time has passed. The Wheel Editorial Board writes superficial pieces that sound good on paper, but are not well-researched and reveal a lack of understanding into how student government actually operates (For example, the writers of the linked article initially thought that the Student Government Association (SGA) was in charge of club chartering instead of College Council before they were corrected). The Wheel News section has also failed its job by inconsistently reporting on what student government does and not fully investigating the issues they report on (Why did the Emory Wheel not report on what would have happened if “No Confidence” won the SGA election before it actually won?). It is time for student government to take back responsibility for reporting on its own operations, and for news organizations to hold student government accountable for doing their job.

Second, student government must clarify and change its structure. This is a topic of conversation that arises every year, illustrating the need for a complete systems overhaul. College Council, for example, currently has 65 people, making it unwieldy, bureaucratic, and difficult to manage. The whole organization must shrink. The Executive Board structure must be modified to prioritize the chartering, funding, and support of organizations, and the Legislative structure must be modified to ensure the legislators have both guidance and accountability for the work that they do. The Legislature must also work as a pipeline for students to connect directly with administration and have students advocate on their behalf.

The relationship between College Council and the Student Government Association must also be transformed to ensure that talent is not split between both bodies, and students know who to go to address which problem. Every student is confused on the difference between SGA and CC, and this appears to signify a problem with the way that divisional councils operate. Perhaps, an even more absolute solution involves abolishing SGA and having each of the divisional council presidents meet on a weekly basis, manage the SAF Split, run elections, and oversee Executive Agencies. This would reduce the bureaucracy and streamline student government proceedings.

As transitions begin for the incoming student government administrations, I challenge them to not make the same mistakes that I made by continuing to uphold and make minor fixes on a broken system. By acting boldly and creatively to rethink their organizations, I hope that this next batch of leaders can transform student government from a place of disorder into a site of advocacy and radical change.

Correction (4/5/2022, 4:05pm): This article was updated to reflect the fact that rather than not having asked the question, the Emory Wheel decided not to report on what would have happened if “No Confidence” had won before the results were released.