Opinion: The Student Voice Is Lacking

There’s been a lot of talk lately about “student voice” on campus – what it means, who it represents, and whether it’s actually being heard. But after the recent town hall March 31, it’s getting harder to ignore a pretty obvious issue: communication from our student body isn’t just lacking. It’s actively breaking down.

I went around campus these last few weeks asking random students whether they heard of this or that event, or certain issues. A vast majority said they never had. This can be seen in the small amount of guests at the Winter Ball in January, and most certainly the lack of students at the town hall.

The town hall was supposed to be a space where community could show up, speak openly, and have their concerns addressed. This is the kind of space where advocates for the student body are most needed. Yet, I found no representatives from the Student Government Association (SGA), of which President Young had acknowledged as well that their duties are to represent students.

Yet there were none.

At the exact same time as the town hall, the SGA hosted their own event in the atrium. A party. While scarce students tried to raise their concerns in the town hall, the group elected to represent them was busy hosting something completely separate.

When student leaders aren’t present in spaces where student concerns are being voiced, it creates a disconnect that’s hard to overlook. What especially makes it complicated is that no everyone knew what was going on. Some didn’t hear of it until after the town hall happened. Others didn’t realize SGA wasn’t attending.

Information travels in fragments, depending on who you know or what you happen to come across online. Without clear communication, participation drops. People stop showing up – not because they don’t care, but because they’re out of the loop.

So what now?

If there’s one thing this situation makes clear, it’s that change isn’t going to happen passively. Students need to show up, ask questions, and expect transparency from the people representing them. That can look like attending meetings, or even just reaching out and asking, “Why weren’t you there?”

At the same time, SGA has an opportunity here too -- to rebuild trust by being more present, more communicative, and more intentional about avoiding situations like this in the future. Even small steps, like clearer announcements or coordinating schedules with major campus events, could make a difference.

This isn’t about calling anyone out just for the sake of it. It’s about making sure the systems meant to support students are actually working for them.