I maintain a love-hate relationship with Associated Student Government.

Actually, it”s mostly hate.

It”s common knowledge that Northwestern students have little confidence in ASG, but the reasons why rarely are discussed.

Senate meetings are portrayed as bureaucratic bitch-fests where nothing ever gets done. When residents of Jones Resident College, like Beth Gianfrancisco, hear back from their senator, they just get updates on the ‘complete futility of the system.’

Multi-hour debates on the same issue, although valid, manage to slow the legislative process to the point where few results are produced. Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee chairman Jay Goyal called it the result of a ‘structural problem.’ Allison Hall Senator Jordan Cerf said it is because of a lack of continuity between the Executive Board and the senators.

ASG lacks the necessary structure for well-reasoned discussion. It needs a more rigorous debate process to allow for concise remarks. More pressing issues could be handled through submitting remarks over e-mail for senators to read at their leisure and vote on later. This would waste less time and pass more bills.

If students don”t believe in ASG”s ability to do anything, it becomes very difficult to prove otherwise.

‘I don”t have any clue what it is they do,’ said David Skidmore, a Music sophomore.

Because of minimal communication between senators and constituents, the only people who know what ASG actually does anymore are, well, the people inside ASG. The election process is absurd, too. The amount of rules violations, points allotted and annual scandals make it seem more like a three-ring circus than a legitimate desire to run for office.

McCormick junior Dave Shelley said he reported a campaign violation early in this year”s race, but it went ignored.

‘They have all these rules, but they don”t follow them,’ he said.

It”s hard not to consider this election a farce. Bryan Tolles won executive vice president — unopposed — Wednesday night. This comes one year after he said, ‘I just don”t like my constituency.’ And nobody seems to care.

It”s sad that two candidates, one of them declared inept by two major organizations and the other reviled by many students, can still run unopposed. Worse yet, this is met with ambivalence.

Even sadder, the competing candidates aren”t much better. Voters did not take candidates like Nafis Ahmed seriously after he did stupid things for votes.

ASG”s actions are not limited to their candidates” lack of dignity, though. Turn to Article III, Section 1, Subsection E of the ASG by-laws. Yes, the part where it refers to — I am not making this up — ‘The Badass Rules Committee.’

I”m convinced this implies students don”t read the bylaws, ASG knows it and this is somehow funny to them.

If nothing else ASG should start its reform by adopting more professional committee names. Something like ‘The Sexy Lesbians” Rules Committee.’

Although, I fear the joke still would be on us.

Nick Disabato is a McCormick junior. He can be reached at [email protected].