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Rowe in Catch-22

With a London Transit Commission workers strike looming, University Students’ Council president Emily Rowe has been conspicuous by her perceived absence on the issue, leaving some students to wonder what happened to the visible and vocal candidate who campaigned for the position last winter.

The role of USC president is tricky. Due to the relatively small participation in elections by average students and a general misunderstanding of the actual role of the position, being USC president usually means representing many different things to many different people.

It seems the majority of attention is directed towards the president only in times of crisis. The current situation with the LTC is a perfect example of this.

Rowe’s lack of public presence on the issue is somewhat understandable. After all, the president should not feel the need to hold a press conference at the end of every meeting or negotiation. However, as the elected head of the student body, Rowe needs to be aware of how important her visibility on such an important issue is to students.

On the other hand, there is also a misunderstanding by the general student population of what the capabilities of the USC president’s position are. Though the USC represents students’ voices on many subjects, unless the organization is directly involved in the issue they are only able to hold an advisory role. If Rowe were to take on more exposure regarding the LTC, it may create the perception that she has more power to affect the issue than she actually does.

Furthermore, unlike Stephen Lecce or Tom Stevenson — the last two to hold the USC presidential position — Rowe is much more willing to delegate to other members of her executive board. Perhaps Rowe feels more willing to pass on comments regarding LTC negotiations to Dan Moulton, vice-president university affairs, because such negotiations are part of his portfolio.

That being said, Rowe should recognize students want to see her publicly involved with this debate, especially because of how far-reaching an LTC strike would be in the student community. Because Moulton was not elected to be USC president, some students may wonder why he appears to be the more public face of the organization.

Of course, part of the blame lies at the feet of media, the Gazette included. All too often it makes more sense to contact the individual most directly involved with an issue, which is rarely the USC president.

It is understandable some students may wish for Rowe to be more visible on more issues. Her electrifying election campaign last year seemed to indicate a more progressive and public USC than had been seen before. Though Rowe may recognize she is not the most knowledgeable source on all topics, there is nothing stopping her from contacting those more informed and presenting that information to students and the media.

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