I would guess the reason for “President” Geoffroy’s positivism comes from the fact that he is not a major stockholder in the fate of Ames or Iowa State, although he is a major decision maker.

Generally, a president is elected and in order to keep his or her job, he or she must satisfy those electors, or at least enough to be re-elected. Unfortunately for students, the only justification for actions in Geoffroy’s case is to continue to please those who appointed him, which, I would venture to guess, is the Board of Regents.

If you didn’t catch it, this means that Geoffroy is not accountable in any way to the Ames community or ISU students.

As long as both parties are held complacent and docile, then the Board of Regents stays happy and Geoffroy gets to keep his job. Geoffroy is accountable to the Board of Regents, and the Board of Regents is accountable to the governor. There may be a few added levels of accountability, but the point is that the only person who seems to be accountable to “We the people” is the governor.

For students, that means we have no representation in the parts of our lives that really count. We have our lapdog Government of the Student Body, which casually sidesteps any issues of real concern or veritable importance and is held in the lowest demeanor when it comes to having true responsibility in the future of Iowa State. A liaison to the municipal government of Ames was a very important step in the right direction, but as it seems to me, this has been treated by the previous representative as a mere stepping stone to put on their r‚sum‚.

As the major decision maker for the school — which, for those who don’t know, is also the biggest employer in the Ames community — Geoffroy needs to be made accountable to the students. Thus far, it has been enough for him to simply satisfy us to the point that we are not rioting about tuition hikes or class sizes or about anything of real importance to us (instead we riot against cops and local businesses — amazing how the slave drivers have us trained).

Many students are dissatisfied with the current state of their education, but since their voices go unheard upon the ears of Geoffroy, he is unwilling to make changes that will truly improve the educational situation here at Iowa State.

It is absolutely essential that we realize our stake in this community, no matter how short the time may be. We are Iowa State University, and as such, we should be in control of our future.

Jeremiah Meizis

Junior

Political Science