The Students' Party: An Obituary

By Scott Behnan

Opportunity seldom knocks twice. This is one of the many revelations plaguing all former constituents of the Student’s Party (SP), which less than one year ago dominated the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA). Nevertheless, the SP appears to have disintegrated, joining the New Frontier, Wolverine, and Michigan parties in the ever-expanding graveyard of defunct Michigan politicos. Over a span of one election season, SP has gone from fielding the largest group of candidates of any political party — 19 candidates in 9 schools in the previous winter elections — to a complete disappearance from the U-M political scene.

Of course, this grim outcome for SP defies what many once considered a bright future for the party. Following the 1998 winter elections, SP emerged a victor over its nemesis (now defunct) Michigan Party, with President Trent Thompson and Sarah Chopp capturing the executive slate. Although the Thompson administration introduced some modest proposals throughout the winter term, the intrusion of DAAP and its radical political agenda on to the assembly following the 1998 fall elections clashed with SP and its more student-oriented platform — and in some eyes triggered the eventual breakup of the party.

According to its leaders, the SP was formed more for winning elections than for ideological issues. However, confronted with DAAP and its cohesive leftist agenda, SP members found themselves under pressure to either remain at the center, or join DAAP in left field. Consequently, as MSA dialogue shifted from student issues on the U-M campus to international predicaments, the few conservative and moderate representatives on MSA became more disillusioned week by week. After MSA debated for over two hours last spring whether or not to “condone the lifting of Iraqi sanctions,” conservative SP veteran David Burden shocked his colleagues by resigning entirely from the Assembly.

SP’s troubles reached their climax as several key party leaders, including current MSA President Bram Elias, VP Andy Coulouris, and BPC Chair Glen Roe, deserted SP and founded the left-leaning Blue Party (BP) for the 1999 winter elections. Although the SP ran a diligent campaign, BP executive candidates Elias and Coulouris dethroned the SP executive branch and a large portion of its constituency on the Assembly.

As to why SP has failed to regroup and challenge BP in the upcoming fall elections, MSA representative and former SP member Joe Bernstein said, “We [SP] had only two incumbents eligible for reelection. … It wasn’t worth finding new candidates.”

As to the MSA’s current condition, Bernstein described it as a “terrible situation” and comparable to a “prom committee.” He also criticized MSA for pushing the aforementioned non-student issues like Iraqi sanctions, and also the recently proposed “Winter Dance” solely for MSA representatives. He also criticized the BP, stating “They’ll tell you about the parking ticket box, but in reality MSA has done absolutely nothing this year.” Although the legacy of SP is debatable, Bernstein still asserts, “We [SP] were about practical ideas for students like cheaper books and a later Drop/Add date; not some national movement.