Battleangel

Ok, this is the final straw as far as I am concerned. At some clandestine meeting on Thursday evening, the student union cadre determined that the only way to regain some sort of financial validity and cope with the extreme toll of the construction and furnishing of the new student union building was to raise the union fee. It was not entirely unexpected. It is rare that people see their own dire situation and realize the alternative ways that are open to them. Probably because those alternative ways will mean a radical drop in status. In this case by maybe selling back some of the PA system and furniture or maybe sacking some people (mainly the people in the cadre).

The fee is now 350 SEK / year (up from 250). A 40% raise. And 100 SEK times 5000 students amounts to the exact 0.5 million that the union was short on. The math is kindergarten and so you would expect from the union cadre.

Call me cheap if you will but for me this goes beyond the 100 SEK. It’s about where that money goes and why. It’s about a horrendous mismanagement and borderline criminal practice. It’s about principles and ethics. It’s about coercing students to join in an organization that most would want no part of if given a truly free will. It’s about the majority of students indirectly financing the unrighteous life of a few who are allowed to monkey around in their own government protected playpen. I know their type and I deeply despise them. It is time someone gave them a sound thrashing.

Still no luck with the mandatory membership either. The Swedish minister of education recently made a rather clear remark about the tradition and obviously felt there was no reason to change anything. That is the politician’s way of saying he hasn’t read up on the situation or doesn’t understand the question I guess. Ideologies.

In a time of economic hardship for both the union and the university it would maybe be a good thing to dismantle the union, keep the fee, set up some bogus reason and channel the funds directly into the university where it can be put to good use. Instead of giving throwing it into this sandbox.

Obviously the situation is unacceptable. Caught within a system that one cannot escape and that is spiralling towards the abyss. I guess one would drop dead if one could overlook the general mismanagement going on in society. Not just on the micro but also on the macro level. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.

See also:
#291 The problem with Swedish student unions
#964 Green bag culture and jumpsuits
#1001 Student Union Deficits