With contributions from the entire Rearguard writing staff

To The President:
A Short List of Things We Want From You Next Year

By the time you read this, a new ASPSU president will have been selected by less than ten percent of you. Whoever that person is, the working minds at the Rearguard have decided that we have a few demands to make of him or her. All of these are issues related to or directly pertinent to the job of ASPSU president. There are simply a few things that are completely rotten on campus, and it’s now your job, ASPSU president, to fix them. Hey, you wanted this job, so please don’t be afraid to dive right in and start fixing shit. We’ll be watching.

Student Involvement
It may sound cliché, but having students who aren’t in ASPSU involved in the various campaigns and lobby efforts that your administration will be engaged in is of the utmost importance. Right now, the powers that be in university are trying to change Portland State from a commuter college to the traditional university. Whether this fails or is successful will be directly related to the amount of student involvement on campus. Beyond that, your success in Salem and Washington DC will hinge on the number of students you are successful in mobilizing to push politicians into doing what we want them to do. You’ve got your work cut out for you, given the fiscal apocalypse facing PSU.

Communication
For students already involved on campus, we ask for more communication. As it is, student groups don’t communicate with one another except when necessary. You need to fix this problem by promoting dialogue with the most active students on campus. These are your natural constituents and are the heart and soul of this university. Communication is essential for the student community to function in a way that is consistent with the goals of a university environment.

Speaking of communication, it is imperative that you foster clear communication with the campus media. We are a resource at your disposal to help motivate students to whatever cause you wish. Of course, you can’t expect the Vanguard, Rearguard, Spectrum and Spectator to be mouthpieces for your administration. We will say things about the job you do that are extremely critical when it is warranted. Don’t take it personally. It’s part of the job.

SFC
The Student Fee Committee has pissed off a lot student groups by targeting certain groups for racial information that was strangely lacking in groups who don’t fit the mold of traditional students. While you aren’t the SFC chair, as President you can fix this snafu by working with the SFC and keeping in touch with what they are up to. The SFC does important work, and it is your job to make sure they don’t screw it up.

Student Politics
Something that many administrations have failed to notice over the years is that the average age of PSU students is around 27. Students need to be spoken to about issues as if we are adults. Your administration needs to behave as adults, as well. This wasn’t a particular problem this last year, but it has been an issue in the past. Part of acting like adults would be to reform the elections process and make the election look less like high school and more like real politics (you just might get more than 10 percent of the student body to vote). In addition, a central database with all candidate information would be great; possibly located on the ASPSU website. Speaking of that website, get with the times and change it—it is hard as hell to navigate.

Stay In Touch With Reality
Thinking big is great. But act realistically. One of the candidates campaigned on having his office door open and acting like Mr. Rogers to any student who wanted to talk to him. That’s nice. Unfortunately, we need a president who understands that the job is real and has profound responsibilities associated with the student community. Some things need to be executed on campus that affect students in a very obvious way—like a textbook exchange that undercuts the costly student bookstore. The current administration allegedly had one, but information couldn’t be located on the ASPSU website even if their advertisements said otherwise. Also, transportation costs are constantly increasing—past administrations have pledged to tackle the cost of parking and FlexPasses, yet nothing has come of it. If you can get something done, the student body will love you for it. Little things like that will help make Portland State a better place for everyone.