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My childhood obsession with Legos was one for the books. So much so, that as I built expansive Lego worlds over the years, I was forced to establish a so-called Lego government, appointing my favorite minifigures to lead it.
These minifigures met weekly to discuss whatever ongoing events I had cooked up in my imaginary world. The Lego president Yoda met with neighboring nations and Lego supreme court justice Indiana Jones officiated the first ever gay Lego wedding between two of my Lego Ninjago pieces.
In my time at UNC, I have often believed there to be many parallels in our own student government with my childhood Lego world including, but not limited to, inefficiency, not being grounded in reality and being born out of a desire for attention.
While not all of the student government fits that profile, I can’t help feeling that in many ways, it has surpassed the scope of our campus.
Take the undergraduate senate, for starters. Each year, every UNC student is forced to fork over approximately $25 for a student organization fee. This may not seem like much, but in total these student organization fees bring in close to about $500,000 a year.
It’s up to the undergraduate senate to decide the allocation of these funds, so it’s not surprising that for the spring 2024 semester they allotted themselves, and the rest of student government, a whopping $50,000 for student government-related stipends.
If you’re like me, you’re now assuming that if the student government is allotting themselves an entire 10 percent of the student organization’s yearly budget, they must be getting some pretty important work done. Yet, a quick look at the undergraduate senate’s agenda for last month, and you can’t help but think maybe the senate is a little too fond of tooting their own horn.
Last month alone, the undergraduate senate passed USB 106-145, a bill approving a bake sale for a library and the authorization of $1,000 from the budget to be put toward an end-of-year party celebrating themselves. They also passed USB 106-134, a bill that more or less says the budget won’t be amended unless absolutely necessary, while simultaneously amending a previous bill from two weeks prior by changing the budget’s resolution rate by 5 percent.
Just last semester, multiple student organizations on campus reported having to dip into their own personal funds in order to compensate for decreased funding by the undergraduate senate. In a Daily Tar Heel article, the Loreleis, an a cappella group, expressed gratitude for the senate’s funding, but also stated they were receiving less funding from the student government than what was initially requested. Other groups like Indian folk dance team Bhangra Elite were also receiving insufficient funding.
If the undergraduate senate has enough money in their own budget for a black-tie party for themselves, certainly there must be additional funding opportunities for groups like these.
Outside of the senate, as student body president campaigns gear up, I feel as if some of these candidates would be better suited for theater than government given their dedication to dramatics — montage videos with emotional music, copy-cat interviews and, of course, Beyoncé references.
This isn’t to say that student government isn’t helpful — budgets are important and so too is advocacy. Student Body President Jaleah Taylor’s current administration helped launch multiple initiatives in her tenure that have made meaningful contributions to student’s well-being.
Student government is meant to exist for improvements in student’s everyday life. It is not capable of massive administrative overhaul. There came a time in life when I myself had to put down my imaginary Lego government and get to work on real life activities like homework. With all this time committed to making nonsense promotional videos and passing ridiculous amendments, student government might benefit from doing the same.
@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com
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