The problem, of course, is that senators persist in undermining whatever confidence students have left in their competence. The Elections Committee, in botching the vote count for last October's first-year senator elections, risked alienating the students who did care enough to vote. These students already constitute a minority of the College's population; it is difficult to imagine that voting numbers will ever pick up without greater dedication to their (uncomplicated) jobs from members of the Committee.
Recent efforts to increase the visibility of the AAS's work, including a pamphlet titled "What is Your Student Government Doing?" have similarly been undone by carelessness and discord in other respects. Last Sunday's faux pas ("faux pox") exposed rot at the highest level. Not only was the gross negligence by the AAS secretary inexcusable, the tone and content of the offending statement flouted professional decorum as well.
Although it remains uncertain exactly who made the statement, the correspondence almost definitely involved someone on the executive board or Elections Committee. Thus the message appears to be that in the future, we should expect neither attentiveness nor professional discipline from even the supposed student leaders of the school.
This general indifference on senators' part to their duties serves only to reinforce the belief many share that a good proportion of senators aim solely to pad their CVs. The new executive board must, as a matter of exigency, address this attitude. Standards of accountability need to be adhered to, the work of senators made visible to their constituents and worthwhile efforts to add to students' wellbeing and to resolve complaints must be pursued. The pamphlet is a good start. Projects conceived along such frivolous lines as a bridge from the social dorms to Hills parking lot are not.
In essence, revitalizing the AAS cannot happen without senators themselves holding a firm belief of its value in representing students. They must have faith in the meritorious purpose of their work, and in the change they can effect.
The results of the elections, to be released tomorrow, will give a mandate (however weak) to one of the candidates. It will then be his responsibility to take charge of the teetering institution that is AAS and right it. It is our hope that, whoever he may be, the new leader of student government will display sufficient willpower and discipline to instil a fresh sense of purpose in his colleagues.