On Wednesday, March 28, I officially lost my bid for SGA president to George Juzdan. This was a great disappointment for many of us who worked tirelessly throughout campaign week. We had a vision for a new kind of student government at MSU, one that better represents the interests of students in these increasingly tough times of budget cuts and disinvestment in the common good. Let us be honest with ourselves: the election results were a victory for the status quo – an indicator of how far we’ve yet to go in our work of bringing progress to this campus.
During my campaign, I tried to get the message out to students that our campus suffers from allowing a fratocracy to dominate the student government. Of course, I use the term “fratocracy” not as a slight to all Greek organizations. I have been clear in my support for sororities and fraternities. I use the term, instead, to shine a light on the fact that one fraternity dominates the SGA e-board, cabinet, and legislature; and I shall continue to use whatever tactics necessary to make apparent the obstacles this situation puts in the way of bringing about changes that our student government needs.
The fact is, the current SGA monopoly – an entrenched power in our little microcosm world of campus politics – goes hand in hand with a status quo that is simply intolerable. And make no mistake about the fact that the administration favors this monopoly. Just look at the record of the current SGA. What have they done to stand up to the administration, the Board of Trustees, and other authorities on issues like rising tuition and student debt, Sodexo, restrictions on free speech, or even the questionable quality of campus events? What have they done to make our voices heard? The current SGA’s record on these and other important issues is very poor. It’s a do-nothing, irrelevant SGA – and the administration loves this.
The circumstances of the election only make matters more disheartening for us. On a campus of about 18,000 students, only about 25 showed up to see the official SGA debate. I later allowed footage of my performance at the debate to be posted on YouTube to inform more students of my platform. But by the time the video received around 300 views, the SGA elections committee notified me that I had lost all online campaigning rights as “punishment” for an action I did not commit: because one MSU professor shared the link for my video with other professors, my online campaign was formally and effectively suppressed; and I was forced to censor my personal website and delete all my campaign activity on Facebook. In the end, less than 2,000 students voted and I received around half the votes had by the current Vice President and now President-elect of the fratocracy, George Juzdan.
Of course, these circumstances provide grounds for a serious challenge to the legitimacy of Juzdan’s victory and of the whole SGA. Juzdan’s supporters also held the majority on the elections committee; and Juzdan himself even had a chance to offer input when my punishment was being decided. However, the lack of voting participation among many students who were generally uninformed (or misinformed) about the election is even more concerning to me than these flagrant abuses of power. So few students saw the debate, far too few voted; and Juzdan and his “bros” are still getting away with using the SGA as a tool for their personal ambition and careerism.
These are the facts of the battle lost; and it is important that we remember them and make them clear to inquiring minds. But more important than that, we have to remember the progress we have made and press ahead. When I first founded our campus’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), it was an uphill battle just to keep a stable base of 3 or 4 members. Not anymore. Now we are growing everyday. I have watched in SDS students making new and lasting friendships, even romantic relationships blooming. Activism is simply becoming a “happening,” the first sign that it will be sustained over the long term. And that is damn good news for MSU!
We are also beginning to make connections across a variety of organizations – with political student groups like Spectrums, Femvolution, The Planet, Young Americans for Liberty, Speaking Through Silence, and more – so this is not just about me and it’s not just about SDS. The work we do together is so important because we are providing a space for political discourse and dissent, and also because we are making that space one where we can be ourselves without having to worry about judgment. There is a place for everyone in our ranks. We are an open community where any and all kinds of students can find their niche and apply their talents, be respected and valued, and grow with us. We are a movement!
If we take the results of the election at face value, we have to concede that the MSU community may not be ready for a politicized student government. And they may not be ready next year or the year after that. But when they are, we’ll be ready to unseat the fratocracy and turn the SGA into the organization we know it can be – one that is the most persistent and outspoken voice for student rights, one that helps our organizations and our movement thrive. Let’s pledge together now to keep up our fight, to hold the SGA accountable, to be persistent in our struggles with the administration, and to finally wake up this sleeping giant that is our university! Vive la revolution at MSU – in solidarity with the global struggle for basic justice – our own mini revolution!
Your most grateful comrade,
Lisa Grab
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