The Student Association has failed to facilitate democracy.

Article I Section 4 of the SA Constitution states that “each student shall have an equal right to participate” in a democratically elected student government. My issue is not with voter participation, our students may freely choose if they would like to vote or not. My issue is with candidate participation, and the lack of choice our students have when they decide they are going to vote.

For the third year in a row, a “unity” ticket consisting of Interfraternity Council fraternities, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and a token Panhellenic Council Assocation sorority is dominating the political landscape. They are running against what is increasingly insignificant opposition. This year the SA election info meetings resulted in only one other declared candidate, down from three last year and eight the year before.

This shortage of candidates is bad for democracy and bad for the SA. While this political arrangement may represent a unity of some Greek interests, it leaves many other groups high and dry; most notably United Greek Council, the fourth Greek council. In these trying times, the student government needs the most dynamic leaders possible, but under the current system, if you are not Greek, you cannot get in.

Less than 10 percent of our student population is Greek, yet they dominate the student political system in totalitarian fashion. This is hardly befitting to the democratic system we have come to expect as citizens and students. Electoral competition is supposed to keep electoral groups from becoming complacent; however, this lack of competition is causing the Greeks in student government to do just that.

There are several structural reforms that can be made to address this problem. However, given the brevity of my space, I will focus on the two most important.

First, I call on the Student Association to reduce the number of signatures needed to appear on the executive ballots from 400 to 200. The number of required signatures is the largest structural barrier to candidate participation. Gathering 400 signatures is an almost insurmountable task for anyone not on a four person, Greek ticket with hundreds of chapter members who will sign their petitions with no questions asked.

I also call on the Student Association to significantly increase restrictions on spending in these elections. Even with the current restrictions on campaign finance, the Greek property interests that tend to back the “unity” tickets are able to spend unlimited amounts of money in support of their preferred candidates so long as they report it. This takes the form of paying for the design and printing of handbills, professional photos, and professional video production. No other group of students on campus has the ability to match this financial backing. It is an unfair advantage that must be eliminated.

What should exist in its place is required public funding of student campaigns. Each candidate running would get X amount of dollars to spend toward their campaign, and keep all receipts on file with the election authorities. If a student is in possession of any campaign materials for which there is no receipt, they would be penalized. A student’s personal wealth or the wealth of their backers should not be a barrier to political participation.

These reforms are crucial to ensure a well-functioning SA continues to exist on campus. The Student Association is the only formally recognized voice of the students at NIU, and we need to ensure that it is filled with effective leaders. If our leaders are to be Greek, they should be tested by a much more robust election process that keeps them focused on issues that impact every student on campus. If our leaders are to be non-Greek, they need to have the ability to actually participate.