Four months ago Adam Crouch, Zak Cherif, and I sat on the deck behind Fiji and crafted a campaign to “revolutionize the student voice.” The day after we won, the headline of the Daily Evergreen read “Starting the Student Revolution,” accompanied with a picture of Crouch’s smiling face and my right ear. So what does this “revolution” mean? Is it time to break out the pitch forks and torches, head down to Lightly, and demand change? Well, no. At least we hope not. Our idea behind “revolutionizing the student voice” starts with challenging the status quo.

When Adam and I were cleaning the office this summer, we found a box of shirts that had “509” printed on the chest. In the past ASWSU has given away items like these to promote the brand and give back to students. Free stuff sponsored by student government, all cool right? Not quite.

This year, ASWSU was given $817,000 from the Student Activities and Fees committee; a committee both Adam and I will serve on in the fall. Every year we, the students, pay a CUB fee, UREC fee, and, amongst the $1002 total in fees, a Student Activities fee. Back to the t-shirts. Now what did those shirts do exactly? Did they promote our ASWSU brand? Maybe, but most students still have no clue what ASWSU is, or what we do. More importantly, did you want that t-shirt in exchange for more fees tacked onto your student loans? Probably not, but what else should we do with a budget of $817,000? Certainly you have an opinion. This is why Adam and I ran for student government. We are going to challenge everything. Every single cent of student dollars will be met with question and every decision will be driven by student engagement.

Now what can two guys with dad bods and beards do to engage over 16,000 students? We can make ourselves visible, meet with you and listen for sure, but certainly not with all 16,000 students. This is where technology comes into play. The use of social media will be at the forefront of our administration, so use it. As the elected leaders of the student body we have an intense privilege of hosting important meetings with important people. Being able to say, “This tweet asking to ‘favorite if you want free printing’ was favorited by three thousand people,” carries more weight than, “I think students want free printing.”

I think back to that picture on the front page. When I first saw it I laughed considering the back side of my head to be the beginning of a year in the shadows of the famous President Adam Crouch. This is something I am used to, that dude knows everyone. Now, I realize my ear symbolizes something big. That we campaigned to listen. We are going to advocate with the voice of 16,000 students instead of just two. It is time to revolutionize the student voice. Challenge us and hold us accountable. Tweet, post, comment, message, email, do whatever you can. If that doesn’t work, maybe we can use some S&A fees for ASWSU branded pitchforks and torches.