The recent Student Government elections faced significant uproar from the student body. In typical NYU Abu Dhabi fashion, something that should have been a seamless, relatively straightforward event became a discussion about student representation and the role of Student Government in student life, as well as the formality with which we should approach campaign platforms. While this was largely carried out on the NYUAD Forum Facebook group, the discourse continued in real life encounters on campus, and ran parallel to the controversy surrounding Residential Education’s room allocation process, as well as the discussion of the #myNYUAD Instagram account.

Typically elections bring out wild promises, healthy discussion and heated arguments. The passion with which students approached this election cycle was inspiring. In order to ensure that these discussions continue into the future, we need to seriously ponder how we can further empower our representatives.

Most recently, Student Government was incredibly effective in negotiating with the university administration to ensure that the room allocation process was resolved quickly and efficiently. It was a rare publicized success, one that led students such as myself feeling like our representatives deserve a lot more credit for their hard work.

Yet, in what was a week of controversy for the student body of our young institution, many questions began to emerge. What does Student Government actually do? Is it a platform for students to raise valid concerns with university administration, or simply a way for the powers that be to present a veneer of collaboration? From many of the discussions held on campus, it is clear that many students are unaware of what Student Government is capable of and that perhaps Student Government itself is unsure where its mandate begins and ends.

Given the success of a single crisis meeting between Student Government representatives and Residential Education, does Student Government need to be given more responsibility on campus? If so, it should be our role, as students, to push not just for further representation, but also for representatives who are granted authority by university administration to actually accomplish what they set out to do.

It is very clear that those involved in Student Government are passionate, hardworking and incredibly conscientious regarding student issues. This article is not a smear piece, but rather an opening of a discussion. Are Student Government members hamstrung by the administration so much so that they cannot achieve meaningful change on behalf of students? Some would argue that Student Government is a platform for a vocal minority — but perhaps this is simply a product of poor engagement from students with General Assembly meetings.

The recent removal of 500 milliliter water bottles on campus is one dramatic change students have managed to effect; yet, it was greeted by a very polarized response. Many students were unhappy with a decision that appears to be irreversible and discussions were held largely during General Assembly sessions that most students either could not or did not attend. Again, whether Student Government should be working harder to incentivize students to engage with their representatives and student executive is unknown — what is clear, however, is that the current model requires tweaking.

The key to resolving so many of the issues facing our student body is open discourse. In giving students platforms to voice their concerns regarding the current system, we should work together to further empower the Executive Board of the Student Government — our representatives — and create something that is as reflective as possible of student concerns. I, for one, want to help enact meaningful change on our campus and the animated discussions over the past week seem to suggest that many of my peers do as well. Let’s use our shared passion for student welfare and representation to make sure that when the next election comes around, we aren’t discussing what our representatives can and cannot do but rather what we genuinely want them to do. To this year’s Student Government, you have my thanks, and to the incoming Executive Board, I wish you all the best.