Student government wants to eliminate 'president,' 'vice president' positions

The Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Student Government (SG) considered eliminating student body president and vice president positions, calling the positions “a flawed structure of our student government.” 

“It has become clear over the last several years that it is extremely difficult, or even impossible, for a single person to represent both undergraduate and graduate students,” a November 21 editorial explaining the student body’s position reads. 

The student body government consists of both graduate and undergraduate representatives, but the president and vice body, the editorial explains, “have primarily represented the interests of undergraduates and not those of graduates.”

In another op-ed entitled, “Student government town hall: do we still need a Student Body President?” it’s noted that the SG will also propose election policy changes.

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Beyond adopting a policy wherein the student Senate would elect a Senate President, adopting a “system that mirrors the Parliamentary systems of countries like the United Kingdom,” no other specific policy change is discussed.

However, the changes to the election policy would, as noted, aim to prevent the Senate from becoming a “boys club.” 

This is not the first time Campus Reform has reported on radical ideas coming out of CMU. 

In October, Campus Reform reported CMU gave a student $3,500 to study the effects of isolation on gender identity throughout the pandemic.

Alana Silva-Cacdac, the student who received the funding from CMU, alleged “that gender identity is formed around puberty, influenced by the ideas and gender of your peers and the social barriers you have.”

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CMU is known for its liberal bias, boasting more than 5 leftist organizations, while only hosting 2 conservative groups, as Campus Reform previously reported. 

The university has also received a yellow light speech code, meaning it has “at least one university policy clearly and substantially restricting freedom of speech.” 

Despite these issues, “the university estimates that first-year students will have to pay $76,660.”

Carnegie Mellon and the CMU Student Government have been contacted for comment on this story and it will be updated as needed.