EVEN FOR the standard non-environmentalist, certain uses of paper rarely can be justified as reasons to cut down a few hundred trees. Such magazines as Redbook, Martha Stewart Living, and The New Yorker immediately come to mind. I recently came upon an old literary acquaintance that, if its publishers had any shame or semblance of a soul, would cease production immediately. I write, of course, about Student Leader Magazine.
For those unaware of this mighty tome, Student Leader -- "SL" for those in the know -- comes out three times per year. Although the magazine typically looks to various kinds of institutional organizations like fraternities, sororities, athletics, etc., it focuses incessantly on one issue: Student government, which it affectionately refers to as "SG."
Its cover typically features one or two happy people -- they must be happy, because they are smiling -- who look as though their happiness might just jump through the pages of the magazine itself and cause you, the reader, to erupt into a gleeful interpretive dance honoring student leadership. The headlines push in a similar direction: "Is Your SG the Best in America?" (Spring 2001); "Want Ethical Elections?" - the correct answer seems to be 'yes' (Winter 2001); "Lose That Ego!" (Fall 2000); and my favorite: "End Apathy Now!" (Spring 2000).
This publication also is readily available at our very own university. Numerous copies of SL reside outside of the Student Council offices in Newcomb Hall. Student Council President Abby Fifer admits that she does "not know from whence it comes," but it appears on a regular basis, nonetheless.
To state it mildly, the magazine seems to enjoy focusing its wares in one direction: Toward those who run or who hope to run standard student organizations on campus. Herein lie the dual problems I have with SL Magazine.
First, the magazine not only creates, but actively encourages and fosters a kind of student culture that almost is entirely self-referential. Certain people at U.Va. truly enjoy the game of politics. Such people, myself included, have little problem watching C-SPAN at three in the afternoon.
Political junkies, however, are focused on the arena that has a major national impact. Washington politicians can raise taxes, give rights, take away rights, build dams, pay for the military, etc. Although student governments may have an impact on the lives of students - mainly through the allocation of the mandatory fees students pay when they enroll - one cannot try to analogize them to the national or state stages.
Unfortunately, SL Magazine does just that. In its Fall 2001 issue, SL has "The SG Salary Survey: Who Gets Paid The Most?" Its Web site touts methodologies for how to increase turnout for a winning campaign. It also sells two books that detail "how to get elected on campus" and how to hang flyers effectively on campus. Both books, conveniently, are authored by the editor of SL Magazine.
Some folks actually believe that student government leaders should try to treat their jobs as opportunities to interact with students and to try to represent those students when making decisions. Unfortunately, magazines like this treat the process of taking charge of a student government as a very mechanical, clinical endeavor. It ignores the whole notion of winning over individuals and instead focuses on treating student government like a Senate election. SL Magazine even imports such a self-centered image onto the student government of whatever school distributes the magazine.
The second problem with SL deals with the title. To state the obvious, student leaders are not simply those who have high-ranking titles in certain organizations. If anything, this magazine should be titled "Student Manager" or "Student Administrator." Such is what effective heads of organizations do. They may lead as well, but SL seems to focus on the actual running of the organization.
The most meaningful leaders on a college campus may never hold a title or belong actively to a lot of organizations. They may simply carry themselves in a manner that causes others to want to be around them. They may lead by some kind of example that, over time, influences others to change their behavior. They may simply stand up to a friend or group of friends who engage in some act that is wrong. Any of these types of people would count as leaders. They would be the kinds of people others follow readily. Unfortunately, they are not the kind of people who would appear in SL Magazine.
Alas, trees die to produce this publication. Perhaps U.Va. would do well not to take receipt of this magazine in the future. Perhaps those trees could then be better spent on something else. Doll furniture, for instance.
(Seth Wood's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at swood@cavalierdaily.com.)
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