Recently our student government declared, along with the Ohio University administration, that our student government is not a public body. In doing so, the student government is attempting to exempt themselves from rules that govern public organizations in the state, including, but not limited to, the obligation to hold public votes. I can’t help but be a bit tickled by the student government’s open declaration that they are not a public body.
If you look at their track record, it’s hard not to agree. The student government has consistently stayed silent as tuition and fees have risen to the highest level in Ohio University’s history. They also have a long track record of opposing reforms that would give students voting powers to appointed student trustees. To claim that they are a public body, that represents the interests and values of the Ohio University student body would be disingenuous at best. Let’s not forget that our student government has not been able to muster anything close to 10 percent of the student population support in an election. Declaring themselves not to be a public body has been their most sincere position they have taken all year.
Will Klatt is a graduate student studying Public Administration.
