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Can MSA rise above parties and dollars?

The burden of those promises falls heavily on the man who made so many of them, MSA President Flint Wainess. Earlier this year, Wainess' promise to spearhead forces of opposition to the new Code of Student Conduct materialized in more congenial -- and condoning -- form than the condemning spirit he promised. Now entering the last months of his term, many more of Wainess' promises are no closer to reality than when they left his lips a year ago.

Already Wainess is encouraging his fellow representatives to prepare for an MSA without him, as they should be. Much of the work begun this year will need to continue in the future to bring about a fruitful completion to these efforts. However, the responsibility of others to continue the work does not remove Wainess' obligation to follow through on his promises. With a lot of time and consequently a lot of power left, this is no time to play lame duck.

The hotly contested issue of health care concerns many students, especially graduate students -- last year that helped fill the ballot box for the Michigan Party. After months of debate and few results it seems to have been swept under the rug entirely. Too often, issues that should dominate debate get lost in the jumbled mess of internal business. Squabbles over nuances of election procedure, excessive points of order and hasty last- minute motions reflect an MSA that is frequently ill-prepared. Members appear more worried about re-election and covering their own backs than accomplishing anything.

The Michigan Party's work to obtain a student regent, which looked promising this summer after students gained a "representative" to the Board of Regents, has stopped after a token achievement. MSA leaders have no reason to wait to finish the project. Before the end of the term, Wainess should have ensured that the efforts will continue.

The current presidential search process and the amount of student input and involvement in it raises another concern. Although an improvement from the 1988 closed search, the current one promises to exclude students. The student representative -- by definition, the president of MSA -- could not be more necessary than in the next year. As elected student voices, MSA leaders must clearly articulate student concerns, needs and desires as the University considers applicants for its next president.

Wainess needs to finish his term as the instrument of those concerns -- in voice and execution. The students need more than the half-hearted nod toward leadership offered as the lame last stand to the Code. Students need their representatives to rally in support of the interests of the student body -- to verbalize those interests as often and clearly as they can. The present MSA must shed concerns of the upcoming election -- or retirement, as the case may be. Wainess and the assembly need to make the remaining months amount to more than a tapering transition into next year's administration.

There are promises to be kept and decisions to be made. Students need representation more than ever as President James Duderstadt leaves. MSA's greatest obligation and most important duty is to represent its constituents -- this purpose must not be eclipsed by its representation of itself.