Engagement on college campuses is vital for students’ well-being and leadership development, and is a quintessential part of any college experience. To achieve this, students have to want to engage with both the professional staff and administration, along with the other student leaders who create the foundation for student leadership and engagement to take place. This is where I believe Simmons University’s issue lies.
To dismiss them as associated pain with continuous improvement or brush them off as typical higher education engagement struggles would be naive, as there is a deeper issue here. Simmons’ Student Government Association (SGA) has been bestowed almost infinite power by the Board of Trustees, which makes it difficult for staff leadership to intervene if and when needed.
A prime example of this has been October 2023 and April 2024 when staff turnover, SGA executive board turnover, class council resignations, and inadequate staffing left many processes unable to be completed as defined in the SGA constitution. This is not inherently an issue, but it became one when the Simmons staff did not have the jurisdiction to step up, fill in gaps, and act in ways that allowed student leadership to still flourish.
On April 24th there was a Judicial Cabinet hearing in which I, as part of the Class of 2024 Council, was put on trial and questioned about certain actions taken related to finance, attendance, and planning processes. Not only was this an unfair trial due to the order of trial not being followed, but the class of 2024 was not permitted to vote even though they are a permanent voting member.
Ultimately the administration stepped in and expressed they knew this is wrong and unjust but they did not have the authority to do anything about it. As I am writing this we still do not have a resolution but I have been assured that one is in the works and is imminent. This situation has taught me so much about people doing what they believe is right and still those actions being unconstitutional and unethical. When people are burnt out, judgment gets clouded.
Students are overloaded with commitments and trying to balance academics and, often, a job at the same time. This leads to a few students doing, or trying to do, most of the work and fill most of the positions. When there are not enough people with enough time to give to certain efforts, like class council or the SGA executive board, these organizations cannot run as intended and this leaves cracks in the system for things to fall through. We would patch the cracks if we could but we can’t. There simply is not the human resources for that.
I believe that blame need not be assigned. Even when something goes wrong or someone messes up, we don’t have to point a finger. At the end of the day, while I just described what I see as an issue within student engagement at Simmons, I don’t think anyone is to blame, I don’t think this struggle is unique to Simmons, and I don’t want anyone to be personally victimized or feel individually responsible.
We all have a role to play in creating more flexible terms for student engagement. Involving more people, giving grace and gray space, and assuming goodwill can go a long way to make our campus– and our world– a more vibrant and inclusive place. There is a place and space for every conversation, and this one is now.
