An assenting response to “Make UNBC Great Again,” pointed at a single aspect of student life that could use tangible improvement
On NUGSS’s website for Student Led Organizations, a jovial banner reads “SLOs Just Want to Have Fun.” But during November’s SLO Holiday Market, only a few tables are populated by baked goods and merchandise; the rest line the hallways, moribund and empty.
Given the loss of SLO diversity and low student turnout at their own events, NUGSS has evidently struggled to boost engagement back to pre-pandemic levels. And this is a real shame, because running the UNBC Fisheries Club for its first year of operation was one of the most rewarding experiences of my university life. I took pride in raising money through bake sales and art sales, in bringing professionals to the university to talk about their work, in partnering with the Wildlife Society to attend a Fisheries conference. I loved meeting the different schools of students with a shared passion for fish: the Academics and Professionals, the frothing Anglers, the Aesthetic-Lovers and Meme-Makers who brought the club to life! I made mistakes running the club, it’s true; I learned a lot about checking my expectations, about how many hot dogs is reasonable for an ice fishing derby, and about how to make people feel valued for their time. But for all the administrative mishaps and late nights and last-minute nail-biting, I can’t regret the great experiences I shared and the friendships I made. And I also can’t ignore our lack of support along the way.
How is it that Over the Edge developed a functional SLO events calendar before the government which manages the SLOs? Why does NUGSS hold a monopoly on poster boards, crippling the prospects of independent student clubs? Why does running an event outside of the NUSC building require correspondence with NUGSS for insurance coverage, while booking a room within the building can take even more paperwork? The website has no guide on writing minutes, the SLO room has no communal supplies, it can take months to make a bank account or official Teams channel, and once-accepted documents can be rejected without informing the affected clubs. Could it be that the million itchy bureaucratic nothing-burgers prevent an SLO from “having fun”?
As a graduate student, I have no representation within NUGSS. And I also don’t blame NUGSS as a singular amorphous entity; the employees are hired by students who are themselves understaffed and inexperienced in governance, as elected by the two students who attend an AGM to barely meet quorum. With hours of meetings on weekends and holidays, a student body who doesn’t show up except to pester you with frustrations, and a strategic priority plan that hasn’t been updated since 2020, working within NUGSS is a discouraging commitment. It’s boring and a lot of work.
But when I led the Fisheries Club for an academic year, I learned something about running an organization: people will show up when they feel valued, even if it’s boring or a lot of work. The TWS’s electoral AGM packed the NUSC space, as did SGU’s, and the Fisheries Club’s wasn’t too bad either. The Art Club holds successful events even without a cohesive executive, and despite having nobody physically present, the Computer Science Club still held a table at SLO days. There is still a fire within the student body of UNBC. There is still a willingness to gather under a common passion. Despite layers of bureaucratic itchiness within NUGSS, new clubs like the Book Club and Slam Poetry Club are still forming year after year, tailored to unique students who can now integrate themselves into a community. Isn’t there a better way to run a student government than to impede the natural passions of the communities they represent?
Imagine instead a NUGSS that properly onboards its executives, that can deal with small inconveniences without its staff being pestered, that incentivizes students to become involved in their community. A NUGSS with an actual strategic priority plan. It wouldn’t be easy; nothing worthwhile ever is. But there’s got to be a better way to run a student government and make its people feel valued. We *all* just want to have fun.
(Jonny Russell, past President of the UNBC Fisheries Club)
