Right around election time, we always hear some familiar lines. "The SG doesn't do anything." "It doesn't matter who is President." "The SG is stupid."
All reasonable criticisms. Nobody has been more frustrated and annoyed by the lack of the SG doing anything than me. But I still care, and I still think it matters. You should too, if for no other reason than the fact that the executives get paid a lot of money to do what they do. And that money comes directly out of your pocket (or your mom's pocket, or your scholarship, or whatever). I mean we are talking about $5,000 over the summer per executive. That is a hefty chunk of change, and since it is our money, we ought to take our responsibility of choosing who gets it at least a little bit seriously (not too seriously, just a little).
As I have always said, it is a two way street. The SG often sucks and gets caught up in itself and forgets about the students they represent. But students don't often enough take the time to care about what goes on right on their own campus.
We deserve a robust student government that represents our concerns to the administration. The best way to get that is to take an active interest, and choose the right people for the job. Making the SG relevant begins with you, whether you are a part of it or not.
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I don't have the math on me, but I believe when you compare the office hours requirements for the executives and their wages, it works out to less than minimum wage.
ReplyDeleteExecs are required to work 20 hours per week for 10 weeks during the summer. They get paid $5,000. That is a gross of $25 per hour.
ReplyDeleteThen they work 18 hours a week for 32 weeks during the school year. During the school year they get $3,500. That comes out to $6.07 an hour. Minimum wage in DC is $7.25 an hour.
ReplyDeleteThe massive hike in pay over the summer allows for the fact that they're required to stay in DC, but not guaranteed housing. And the school can't guarantee them housing by law.