Student Council takes more than five weeks after spring elections to establish its new executive board, committee chairs and committee members. Because this process is ongoing — committee member applications are due Friday — the new Council has been prevented from accomplishing anything significant during its first two weeks in office. If Council were to move recruitment of new committee members to the beginning of the semester and choose the new executive board and committee chairs more quickly after elections, the transition from old to new Council would be much shorter.
The current recruitment process is staggered: the new executive board members are selected, then the executive board selects the new committee chairs and the committee chairs select the new committee members. This process is logical, but the time it takes to complete is time that could be better spent.
The appointed executive board members were not selected until just before they took office March 23. Committee chair applications were due the same day and the new chairs were not selected until a week later. Council would be better served by selecting executive board members two school weeks after elections and selecting new committee chairs the following week.
Council President John Nelson said the reason for the lengthy recruitment period was a desire for adequate publicity — Council wanted students to have sufficient time to apply. But those applying to the executive board were likely already involved in Council or knew they wanted to apply for positions, and would have been aware of the due date for applications. Committee chair positions, on the other hand, require significant time for publicity, but three school weeks is more than adequate, even allowing for Spring Break.
There are also compelling reasons for Council to select new committee members prior to the transition. It is not necessary that committee chairs personally approve the members of their committee, only that committee members are enthusiastic about their positions. Council recruits new committee members at the start of the fall semester and should instate a similar recruitment process for the spring semester. If the recruitment process occurs at the beginning of each semester, when students are looking to join new organizations, publicity efforts will be more effective. Future Council transitions will also be much simpler because the new executive board and committee chairs will already have committee members in place, ensuring the continuity of ongoing projects.
If Council cuts the selection process from five weeks to three, it can begin work as soon as it transitions from the old to new Councils. Nelson noted one of the benefits of the drawn out selection process is the quality of candidates who apply. This benefit will not be lost if Council begins to publicize the application process early. As long as Council thoroughly publicizes the application process, an earlier due date should not be detrimental to the quality of the applicants.
Nelson said the selection process is designed to be a “balance between doing things as quickly as possible and as effectively as possible.” If that is true, Council should move the selection of committee members to the beginning of the semester and accelerate the selection of the executive board and committee chairs. Then, when Council transitions, it can become fully functional as quickly as possible.
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