By: Mohan Krishnan

As Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) elections come around yet again, the U-M student community must stop for a moment and reflect on the Assembly's work. It must decide what was and was not good, what priorities are and are not important, and why. It must then go to the polls in record numbers and tell MSA these things in loud, blaring, and obnoxious terms. That is how things are supposed to work.

In reality students ignore the Assembly and MSA representitives reciprocate by ignoring them for most of the year (and then pandering to them madly for a couple of weeks to get re-elected). However, MSA activities in the past year such as rallying for student health care, child care, affirmative action, and potential fee increases of epic proportion are significant actions which cannot be ignored. If students are in support of these things, they must voice that support, and lend MSA credence. If students are not in support of them, then they must use their voting powers to block MSA from continuing them.

Essentially, MSA activities can be viewed as falling into one of several major categories:

*Supporting student groups -- A major portion of MSA's activities fall into providing monetary.support to student groups. Their seemingly endless pockets are, in reality, derived directly from student fees. Some argue that student groups should derive their funding from members and not from students at large.

This is because there is a polarization of students between those heavily involved in multiple groups and those who never attend even one. The argument here is that the latter should not be forced to fund the former. However, most moderates agree that student groups provide a dimension that adds significantly to students' academic experiences directly or indirectly. For instance, engineering groups put on events like Tech Day that help incoming students immensly.

However, the level of financial support MSA should provide is a matter of serious contention. This election, MSA has forwarded several ballot questions that would, if they all pass, raise the student fee from $2.69 to $6.19, an increase of over 100 percent. Furthermore, one of these ballot proposals would give a portion of students' fee directly to two groups, the Black Volunteer Network and Project Serve. This money would become a line item on the MSA budget and would never, during the monetary allocations process, be available to any other student groups. Regardless of the worthiness of these groups, this idea is very questionable. Students must decide if these groups are so worthy of large-scale funding that it be placed upon a pedestal above the review process of the MSA Budget Priorities Committee.

Furthermore, students must decide if they want to increase the student fee at all. MSA has often been described as bloated, inefficient and wasteful. Well, it has often been described this way in the Review at any rate. The Assembly spends large amounts of money -- over $100,000 -- on itself. Students must decide if MSA can be trusted with additional student fee money without first proving itself by shrinking its internal budget to reasonable levels. Furthermore, students must consider whether this increase will be followed by additional increases. Students may, within the span of a scant few years, be forced to pay student fees of $20 or $50 or even more. Students must decide if this is likely, and if so, if it is desirable.

*Pushing for programs beneficial to students -- MSA often tries to act as the voice of the students. They routinely push for the creation or nurturing of a variety of programs for students. Students must decide what issues MSA should campaign for, on their behalf.

For instance, MSA President Fiona Rose campaigned heavily on the claim that she would help enact child care for U-M students with children, and the regents may be seriously considering this as you read this article. Many students have complained that this is a gimmick, since so few students have children at the University. Students argue that having a child is a choice that U-M students make, the consequences of which should not be foisted on the already financially-challenged body of childless students. Furthermore, they rightly point out that current state and federal programs already provide for university students with dependents. On the other hand, for a poor couple with a child, U-M's support could make the difference between an education and continued financial difficulty.

MSA members have also pushed for student health care. This has been critisized for being a scam, since the majority of students already have health care through their students. Although these students would be able to receive a refund for this health care package (which could cost as much as $500 a year), the plan relies on ignorant students neglecting to request a refund, since without a large pool of students, the health care program would be unable to function due to insufficient funds.

In addition, MSA voices its support of politically charged issues like Affirmative Action. Since MSA has no clear evidence that the U-M population is in support of that program, students must decide if they want the Assembly pushing it and its underlying philosophy. The best way, unsurprisingly, for students to do this is to vote for (or against) MSA members who stand behind this lobbying.(or oppose it).

*Representing students to outsiders -- finally, MSA acts as a voice outside of the U-M community. Members are sometimes quoted in national publications or asked for their opinions by people of great impact on topics of national interest. Since the majority of students are seen as mass of blank faces by those outside the University, they naturally choose the few who are actively involved in visible organizations like MSA. Students, in the case of MSA, actually have some choice over who these "representatives" will be.

Many MSA members are seen by outsiders as "resume-pushers" who use their Assembly seats as stepping stones to other things. Others are seen as "slick" politicians who have questionable agendas. Students must decide which representatives they want to uphold their banner outside of the University. Students may think that outsiders to MSA have no way of finding the right candidates among the morass of shifting parties and candidates, but student publications go out of their way to provide students with information on candidates and their positions. In fact, a large portion of this issue of the Review is devoted to just that purpose. Students can be well-informed at the MSA voting booth.

If there is a slogan running through this article, it is "students must decide." MSA must act with the authorization of students. Around the year, students can complain about the activities of MSA. It is their right, and it is really their only way to communicate to their representatives. However, on November 20 and 21, students have the power to remove those MSA representatives who do not meet their needs and elect those who do. Students have the power to determine MSA's future actions. Students must decide.