Editorial: Student government should not be stifled

Imagine having the government forcibly shut down, with imminent
elections postponed for months. It sounds like something that would
never happen in the United States, but that is exactly what
happened to students at Occidental College.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the campus
administration suspended the student government because “a
culture of acrimony” was making it ineffective.

The Times reported that “complaints” and
“cross-complaints,” including threatening letters, had
finally caused the administration to disband the student
government.

While many student governments are famous for their melodramatic
practices, the shutdown of the Occidental student government sets a
dangerous precedent. If disciplinary actions are needed, they
should be directed against specific students, without collectively
punishing the student body. If specific students are responsible
for threatening letters or other inappropriate behavior, the
administration should deal with them as individuals.

The message sent by shutting down the student government is that
students can’t cause too much trouble, or they will face
censorship from above. Ironically, this particular controversy was
not caused by some controversial cause championed by the student
body and opposed by the administration.

But now the administration has shown its willingness to
interfere in student politics, and students might think twice about
taking vocal political stances.

Student governments are designed to serve as a training ground
for politically minded students. But they also serve as symbols of
student power and amplifiers of the student voice. And the student
voice does not always coincide with the popular opinion. Most
universities have rightly respected the independence of their
student governments.

Administrators told the Times that the shutdown was designed to
stop a “pattern of intimidation and harassment.” This
is a worthy goal, but they went about it the wrong way. The
shutdown was probably the easiest option, but it was not the
best.

Occidental administrators should remember that political
infighting ““ whether on a college campus or in Washington,
D.C. ““ is often ugly. But just because something is ugly does
not mean it should be censored. If the administrators at Occidental
College really wanted to help their students, they would help them
resolve their conflicts, rather than simply teach them to ignore
it.

The problems surrounding the Occidental student senate should
have been dealt with before they reached critical mass. They
weren’t; but that is not an excuse for the
administration’s reaction.

Here at UCLA, the Undergraduate Students Association Council is
known for its bitterly divided politics. Elections are just around
the corner, and partisan maneuvering is sure to occur. Still, the
thought of the Dean of Students taking over its functions is
appalling. Student government, like any government, should be
self-regulating.