What would Adam Meister do?
That question has been ringing in my head for three weeks since the start of this lovely SGA election season. That name, Meister, may be unfamiliar to some, but, truth be told, watching recent events unfold has made me nostalgic for the Meister Administration. Now, nostalgia-to me-is a useless emotion. We have the leaders we have now, deal with it. But it is undeniable that a chasm exists between the SGA of yesteryear and the current SGA. And that is sad.
Since its inception 15-ish years ago, SGA has had its fair share of dynamic leaders, and more than its fair share of ineffective ones. The system, like democracy, is by no means perfect, but it can achieve great things, as evidenced by the Meister Administration.
In 2005, when The University News editorial board endorsed Cari Johns for president, they wrote that it would likely be “a while” before students saw the results of the then-infamous upperclassmen scholarships that were a big part of Johns’ platform.
In April 2006, near the end of Johns’ administration, an agreement was written up by the finance committee, endowing a fund for upperclassmen scholarships. That is a very short turnaround time for endowing a fund, which is a very complicated bureaucratic process.
This year, five $1,000 scholarships were awarded to five deserving upperclassmen.
No one believed that upperclassmen scholarships would be transformed from a hollow talking point into a tangible reality. No one thought in 2005 that the Rec Center renovation would be realized, but it was.
During the 2005 election season, Meister wrote a letter to the editor outlining what qualities he found most important in an effective SGA president.
Meister emphasized dedication, tact and respect, in his written address to the SLU community about the qualities necessary to be the leader of the student body.
Being only a freshman reporter at the time of the Meister Administration, I was so enamored by the SGA process and the respect that the senators commanded, that a golden, shimmery haze rests over that year in my memory. (That, and I cannot always be trusted to think clearly when there is a man in a power suit.)
I remember more excitement during the election season of 2005. I remember that people cared about who won and who was running. Granted, this was right after iPodgate, and controversy abounded-and that always helps voter turnout.
It was an exciting time, and the debates were an event that I was proud to attend.
This year, I don’t know anyone who expressed more than tepid interest in the whole election process.
I’m not sure now what has happened to this campus. The mysterious apathy that seemed such a nebulous concept in 2004 is now a harsh reality that most SLUsers can agree upon.
We talked about SLU students being apathetic in 2004. We talked about it in 2005. But over the years, apathy has morphed from merely a niggling cough to a raging virus on SLU’s campus.
SGA is supposed to simulate the democratic process. An election commission oversees the bloody thing, after all. Compared to years past, this election-especially the debates-have seemed like more of a carnival fun house than a real election. Candidates stumbled over their points, the questions were dull and the responses meandering.
That electric excitement isn’t present this year.
The election will be over in a matter of a few short days, and another e-board will prepare to take its place in front of the senate.
The question that the senators and the candidates need to ask in preparation for another year of SGA (and, indeed, the last few months of the current administration’s reign) is: What would Adam Meister do?