There has been recent discussion regarding the upcoming University Student Government elections. Many of the candidates have been looking to their peers and different student organizations for support. However, some student organizations are not so supportive. The College Republicans, College Democrats and PRIDE! Kent have all agreed not to endorse any candidates for USG. The groups came to this consensus after agreeing that USG has not been meeting the standards that it should.

One issue with USG is its large budget, which no one can seem to keep track of. With such a large budget to work with, you would think there would be more regulation and documentation of the organization’s spending and what it is going toward.

A second issue with USG is its disconnect from the student body. Many students have never even heard of USG, which is very disheartening. USG members need to work on promoting and making themselves known to their peers, considering the range of topics they decide upon on campus.

In addition, many students are not aware of any benefit that USG provides to them. With its budget coming solely from student funding, students should have a better idea as to how their money is being spent, and how it benefits them.

Some candidates may feel that this agreement among College Republicans and Democrats, as well as PRIDE!, is harsh, but they are simply trying to send a message. That message is that until USG begins to shape up and really become the student government it should be, they can look elsewhere for support.

USG is a body meant to represent the students, and these organizations are trying to make sure that it reaches this expectation.

Hopefully, the decision made by these organizations as well as the “USG series: Test your USG knowledge” running on KentWired will cause students to ask more of USG so it can become the best student government it has the potential to be.