McGill Tribune

As the self-proclaimed representative of the silent student majority, things have been tough here at Life Lines. There is no genuine statistical data on the political beliefs of this majority, so I am left writing heartwarming, greeting-card-line-drenched pieces that attempt only to make the average student smile. Although once described as “trite” by a snobby-nosed English major, Life Lines aims to protect the world from the likes of the McGill Daily and the Prince Arthur Herald. Without at least one smiling (and moderate) idiot waving a fun-loving, anecdotal column as a white flag, debate might become so polarized that 90 per cent of our student body loses interest. Oh wait: that’s already happened.

But let’s not just blame the student pundits; from the capital to the coastline, student societies have been caught supporting causes that students either don’t care about or really don’t care about. No wonder people are disillusioned and uninterested in campus political discussion. Our money goes to student councils and they spend it on facilities, cafeterias, information programs, and radical political parties with weird, confusing names like Canada’s Only Liberal Anti-Progressive Communist Green Party of Canada Party.

Zach Newburgh, president of our own Students’ Society, expressed similar sentiments in a recent chat. He too noted that “referenda and elections are faulty indicators, as only those who care most about an issue will vote, which often leads student governments to take positions that are unrepresentative of the majority of their constituents.” What is to be done? Student councils can’t be purely neutral and never take a stand. That would cripple effective organizations in situations when the large majority of students obviously need them. One example of a worthy issue is facilitating dialogue between students and the administration when there is a possibility of sharp tuition increases.

The answer is fairly simple. In matters directly related to the student’s university experience a student union should do its utmost to enhance said experience, incorporating and debating the many perspectives on what such an experience should be. Ultimately, in these cases, SSMU should take a stand. Otherwise it should sit down and shut up. Newburgh agrees: “I do believe that it is better for student governments to stay out of taking political stances that diverge from post-secondary education and administrative dealings, as it really is far too difficult to determine ‘what students want’ beyond these issues.”

This by no means suggests that we have an apathetic, anti-political student body. Student groups and clubs which have a fairly good idea of their members’ views should be free to fully support their respective causes. They should even be encouraged to do so. Newburgh says: “I do believe that it is important to fund students who wish to take part in political action.” And I agree. But until they have a much better idea of what their constituents’ views are, student unions themselves should be wary of explicitly rallying behind a specific cause. At the end of the day we’re all students: we prefer pastries over propaganda.