RUSA, the Rutgers University Student Assembly, seems to hover around campus like a ghost. Who are they? What do they do? Every once in a while, they appear beforethe general public,when issues like the “Too Much Money Retreat” last fall garner widespread commentary. In talking to some of my friends, most are not even aware of RUSA’s existence. Of the ones who have heard of the group, the general consensus is that RUSA distributes money to different organizations. And that makes sense. Shiny cardstock, full color and beautiful quality fliers for an event called “The Sexy Side of Entrepreneurship” have been circulating around Browerof late. On the back, they say “Paid for by RUSA Allocations.” For a university of Rutgers’ size, I would think the student government would be a bigger deal. With over 25,000 undergraduates alone, RUSAhas a lot of people to represent. Yet, how can you represent someone that doesn’t know you exist?

So, I poked around their website, I talked to someone involved with RUSA in the past, and I found out a few things. First of all, RUSA and RUSA Allocations are two different entities. RUSA’s job is to “advocate for students,” not to dish out the cash. RUSA is made up of different campus and cultural councils, as well as committees such as the “Academic Affairs Committee” and the “Public Relations Committee.” Scrolling through the list of members from different councils, I was surprised by the number of vacancies they have listed. But I was even more surprisedto see written there, “RUSA would benefit tremendously from gaining new and dedicated students who are interested in advocating on behalf of their peers.” While obviously true, I cannot seem to see much of an effort being made to find such students. In fact, the website does not even list when and where meetings are. How is a concerned student even to make his voice known at a meeting that is not announced publicly? Even if all the information is on their website, such as important email addresses, minutes and resolutions, no one can find it unless he or she actively searches.

As I talked to a former RUSA member, I was able to dig a bit deeper than the website would allow me. In order to divulge everything he said, I am not going to name him. As I asked him about this lack of communication between the student body and RUSA, he agrees that there is not very much initiative being taken within the student organization…and not very many students paying attention either. More leaders, more creativeleaders, he thinks, are necessary for RUSA to live up to its potential. He told me the training, including the above-mentioned retreat, is inadequate to empower students to accomplish the things they set out to do. The knowledge, skills and methods of one set of students gets lost in the transition to newer, incoming representatives. Late April elections, held by online poll on a website no one knows about (unless they care to find it) yield leaders who win by telling their friends to vote for them. There is no constant ebb and flow of dialog between RUSA and the students it represents. Interaction instead seems to lay stagnant.

Appearances can be deceiving, however, and I will pursue the issue further to try to prove myself wrong. Opinions of one person can be colored, and I want to find out as much as I can about RUSA. With the promise of a new constitution, which will incorporate RUSA and separate the organization from the university, could reform be on the horizon? Are RUSA student leaders trying as hard as they can to engage an uninterested student body? Or are these student leaders more interested in holding positions of power than inpassionately trying to make Rutgers life better for all? I have my doubts, but I am hopeful for the future of RUSA and I am looking forward to finding outmore about the changes they are writing into their constitution.

To conclude, I invite you to comment with any questions you have for RUSA members, any problems you have had with them, or ideas to fix obvious flaws they may have