The Job of a Student Government President on a College Campus

In every college or University, there is a student government body which represents the student body. In every student government branch, there is a chief executive or president who is in charge. Usually this person is elected by the student body.

So what exactly does the student president do? That's the million dollar question on everybody's mind. Let me preface by stating that the student president job is very difficult. It requires a huge time commitment each week and it feels like a full time job because it really is one. That's also why the student president usually gets paid a few thousand dollars for taking on the challenging position.

The student president is the link between the school administration and the student body. It is the job of the student president to be the student advocate on the college campus and protect and defend the rights of students. The student president is involved with any decisions made regarding students although sometimes the student president is powerless to stop a decision that can be damaging to students like cutting certain classes from the school curriculum or increasing tuition. However, demanding on the level of competency of your school president, the school president has the power to organize the student body and bring forth change in events and policies from the administration on a college campus.

In every University, there are certain things which the student body feels passionate about ranging from better teachers to better food, cheaper textbooks, etc. If there is a major construction project on the college campus, the student president has the job of finding out the details about the project and getting the word out to students. The best student presidents are able to anticipate administrative events ahead of time and organize students if it is an unpopular move by the administration. In some cases if the student body is unified against the administration and receives media attention from the community, an unpopular student move can be avoided due to student pressure.

Other issues which most people aren't aware of that the student president will deal with is on campus banking options for students, student groups on the college campus, having a role in planning major student events like concerts and comedians. The student president has a packed weekly schedule in which he or she has to see a multitude of administrators in order to know everything that is going on throughout the college campus. For big college campuses in which the student body might exceed 30,000 students, the job of the student president becomes more difficult because the campus is bigger and more activity goes on throughout a given week. All of these various activities that the student president does bring to the fore front student elections and why it is so important for students to vote for a competent president that will best represent your interests.