I have been disturbed this year by the state of student leadership.
It seems like a majority of today’s leaders would rather seem effective than actually be effective. As leaders gear up for another election season, I want to remind everyone of one thing: please hold your student leadership accountable.
I’ve been around for a few years now, and I see the same trend in student government repeatedly.
People are dazzled with flashy tee shirts, free stuff and compelling speak-out rhetoric during campaign season but when it’s time to go to work, student leaders are falling short and students are left needing real leadership.
I will admit that not everyone in student government is skit. Some leaders are actually doing what they promised; they are working everyday to make the lives of Howard University students better but they do a horrible job of letting the student body know.
ATTENTION STUDENT LEADERS: If you are actually doing your job, let students know, otherwise you will be grouped with the rest of those who are just faking it.
Read this next section very carefully: THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTUALLY BEING EFFECTIVE AND FOOLING YOURSELF INTO BELIEVING THAT YOU ARE.
Take it from someone who knows, we in student government do a very good job of making ourselves feel important and patting ourselves on the back for what appears to be an accomplishment.
If at the end of your term, not one student can say, “what you did helped me,” then your work was worthless.
In regards to the skitters or student leaders, this is on YOU. You elected these people and you do not hold their feet to the fire… WAKE UP!
It should be disturbing that people get paid three to nine thousand dollars of your money and they don’t do ANYTHING!!!!
They throw programs that nobody cares about or attends and then (giving themselves a pat on the back) blame lack of student participation solely on student apathy.
Leaders, did you ever consider that the reason students do not come to your programs is because you don’t matter to them?!?
You have not established student government as a vehicle for transformation and change of the student experience.
Instead, you have established the student government as a bastion of mediocrity, a monument to self-importance and an ode to emptiness.
You (yes you) are wasting everybody’s time and money and you should be ashamed of yourself!!
Students, these same people are going to come before you in a few short months and ask to be elected to other offices or reelected to the same. They will say that they have experience. They will claim to want to advocate for you.
Will you be fooled again? It’s up to you! I encourage you to do your homework thoroughly before you vote.
Look at the General Assembly attendance records (they will be published from now on), find out if they did their office hours or if their initiatives succeeded and challenge them to back up the claims that they make.
Do you understand that what we know as Howard University is in danger of changing irrevocably?
Do you understand that at the forefront of every major positive shift in HU’s history stood strong student leadership? DO YOU GET IT? DO YOU CARE?
Howard University is in a fragile place and we need real student leadership.
The time for games and half-hearted measures is over. “What do we want?” “LEADERSHIP!” “When do we want it?” “NOW!”
William J. Roberts
2nd year Law Student
47th HUSA VP
3 comments
Secondly, I believe Mr. Roberts hits a point that many often opt to overlook. Leaders will only be as great as their followers allow them to be; meaning if the expectations are not set high enough and they not held accountable to those they serve then student leaders can only be mediocre at best. It is the duty of constituents to not be apathetic, to not be passive complainers but to demand greatness of their leaders.