Shared Governance and Activism: The Importance of Campus Collaboration for Marginalized Students

BTSU 208

Activism has always had an essential place in the campus experience for students across the country. What is heavily recorded and documented are the landmark protests and demonstrations that students have led over the last century. However, what isn’t as heavily recorded is the strides that students have had in increasing their representation within higher education’s model of shared governance. While most of the literature on shared governance is written from the faculty standpoint, students also have a key stake in shared governance that isn’t often explored. Shared governance and student activism work hand-in-hand on college campuses across the country. In today’s world, meaningful change cannot be accomplished on college campuses without the collaboration and input of key student groups. And when this does happen, university administrations usually face massive backlash from the student population. In this workshop, Diversity Affairs Senators of BGSU’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) will work to describe in detail the aspects of our university’s shared governance model and the process by which USG works to make change on campus. Students will also have time to explore ways how they can get involved in this process, as the presentation will emphasize the key point that every member of the community has a role within the governance of the university. And as the largest constituency group on a college campus, students have a very important role that many aren’t told about. This is all the more true for students within marginalized communities on campus. USG aims to give African American students the professional tools necessary to effectively translate their passionate activism into positive change on campus.