The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a government as a “body of persons that constitutes the governing authority of a political unit or organization.” In the United States, the government represents the country’s citizens and is supposed to help make their voices heard. Our system is a representative democracy, made up of individuals elected or chosen to represent us. 

Based on the Student Government Association’s, or SGA’s, website here at Northeastern, you may think that this group falls within the representative democracy category. They describe themselves on their homepage as a “representative body serving over 15,000 undergraduate students.”

However, if SGA is Northeastern’s representative student body, how is it that many students, including myself, have never once experienced a direct interaction with the organization? How can a government attempting to bridge the divide between students and administrators only rely on a select number of students who sign up for the association? This reliance on the opinions of only those who join is a clear example of confirmation bias, leading to ignorance toward the general public’s opinion and a lack of introspection from the involved party. 

This disconnect between the rest of the Northeastern student population and SGA members can be attributed to the lack of communication and transparency between these groups. There must be a way to make students more aware of the plans implemented by SGA. 

As a student at Northeastern, it’s almost universally accepted that there is a lack of Northeastern pride on campus and a general disconnect between students. We struggle to unite because of the sheer number of people, and because of this, our small campus can feel suffocating. With the lack of study spaces, seating and even crowded sidewalks, our university campus feels inadequate. Being a city campus, students look outside the campus for entertainment, leading students to interact with their friend groups rather than looking into campus-based activities where they could meet different people. This can lead to a disconnect in the student population and feelings of separation within their friend circles. To fix this lack of community, one would assume that a student government could help to bring students together and establish a sense of belonging. 

Unfortunately, SGA has been unable to do so. With the backlash against the “Rooted” installation, also colloquially known as the “Truffula trees,” on Krentzman Quad, and the immense anger many students (including myself) had when meal exchanges were largely eliminated, you’d hope that SGA would mirror the feelings of the school’s undergraduate population. However, it has seemingly done the exact opposite; instead, it has been used as a student branch of the university administration. 

There is a clear lack of communication SGA has with the rest of the student body, and while I am not sure what the best way for a student government to interact with the student body is, a weekly email is a good place to start. SGA does have a mailing list, but the only way to join is through its website. Clicking the button to join that mailing list results in an error, as of March 2. I hate to be pessimistic, but the lack of transparency and communication is definitely not a good look for our student government, especially since one of the SGA’s goals is student advocacy. It is difficult to advocate for a student body that cannot even get in touch with your organization. 

There are many available ways to get involved in the SGA if you know about them. You can join a working group or serve on an SGA board. These options allow Northeastern students to facilitate communication between the student body and faculty and also discuss funding. Again, these opportunities are available, but hidden. I have never seen promotions for these involvement opportunities, and I wonder if they were more prominent I would have thought about joining. 

There are definitely other ways for the Student Government Association to improve its relationship with the student body, starting with clearer avenues for understanding what SGA does. The current lack of understanding is problematic, leaving SGA misunderstood and seemingly out of touch with the student body. Writing about how improved the meal plans are by describing the reasons behind the changes is helpful, but it still does not leave one feeling convinced about changes for the better, especially when one of the reasons for meal exchange removal was students feeling “shortchanged.”

I cannot speak for the entire student population, but the only time I feel shortchanged by the dining hall is when I am out of meal swipes with a third of the semester left since moving to semester-based plans was a priority for the SGA. 

The most important thing that can be done to improve our relationship with SGA is if we as a student body have more interactions with it. The SGA exists, even if we are unaware of it. To make your voice heard, sometimes you have to do some work. Creating easier communication flows between the student body and student government is easier said than done, but could be achieved. Whether it be through a working email chain, a community feedback page or a takeover of the Northeastern Instagram, the best way to alert us about what the student government is doing and the best way to facilitate feedback is by pushing it in our face. While the SGA did vote to remove the “Rooted” last semester, we need a clearer and more efficient pathway to communicate our feelings with them. When we see things we do not like (“Truffula trees”), we want to share our opinion, and we need a simpler pathway to do so.  

Ava Vitiello is a second-year political science major and columnist for The News. She can be reached at [email protected].