Confused systems and long-standing dissonance has long plagued the University Student Government (USG). While the USG and its constituents are supposedly under one system, everyone has been on different pages. There is a disconnect on how we understand and perceive things, and between how things are and how things should be.
Concerns over working under Manila-centric systems and with limited manpower continues to exist even a decade after the inception of the Laguna Campus Student Government.
For the past few years, women leaders have been at the helm of the USG, overcoming gendered notions of effective leadership within the University and in larger society.
Independent candidates have opened discussions on whether it is high time for a third option to challenge both Tapat and Santugon, but it is not all that simple.
The political scene has changed over the past five years, but one thing remained constant: passable voter turnouts. The LaSallian takes a closer look into voter turnouts and trends over the last five major USG elections.
Read More
Candidates for Special Elections 2023 sat down with The LaSallian to dig deeper into the principles they uphold and their plans for their respective offices.
View Articles
USG hopefuls for Special Elections 2023 share their takes on numerous pressing matters in and out of the University in this year's Fast Talk.
View InteractiveThe point of a student government is to fill the gaps that the school administration neglects to address. Student leaders represent the student body. This should not be that hard; after all, they are students as well. Aside from this, this “representative leadership” is a campaign promise that they have parroted since when the University Student Government (USG) was still the Student Council.
So why, despite promises, is there a disconnect between the student body and the USG? This is what The LaSallian aims to tackle in this special. Perhaps an answer can be found through an analysis of the two-party system, an investigation on the mess surrounding the canceled General Elections 2023, and an examination of the culture and social systems within the body that governs us.
We've come to find that this disconnect is two-fold. What cannot be seen in these pages is the denial of students to give their comments—because they had none. What cannot be read in the articles is a clarity of vision from student leaders—because the root of student apathy lies beyond their understanding.
This special does not just provide information for an educated guess to answer the question. The LaSallian also hopes to draw attention to this disconcerting issue, especially to the USG and anyone who aspires be a part of it. Most importantly, as the fourth estate, we wish to prompt the Lasallian community to be an active participant of the local sociopolitical sphere of the University. Much like how public opinion and national policy intertwine, so too can an engaged student body and an enlightened USG. Only then can these two disjoint forces find themselves on the same page.
