Since we at GOP3.com, a student blog, have recently highlighted the silence of liberal blogs on campus and the blank Marquette University College Democrats Web site (see http://www.gop3.com), we thought it only fair to highlight our student government's dead blog, myMUSG.

The myMUSG blog (http://mymusg.blogspot.com) popped up during the last student government election (February 2005) and went silent after a shameful attempt at coercing the student body into submitting to the university administration's mandated nickname the "Gold." The then newly elected MUSG President Alex Hermanny lead the student government in urging students to "come together under their new nickname":

"Regardless of personal feelings about the issue, MUSG hopes that all members of the Marquette community can come together under the new nickname."

Some brave senators passed a resolution to urge the university administration to reconsider and allow students to vote on the issue but do we know who these students were? No. All of the votes and decisions made by the MUSG senate are conducted by secret ballot or show of hands. No records are kept as to which senators vote which way, therefore we never know the true views of our senators and the MUSG senate remains a group of people elected solely on the basis of popularity or name recognition.

This lack of culpability then substantiates itself in the form of misguided, disconnected decisions such as spending twice as much on concerts versus speakers or helping to fund half a million dollars worth of plasma flat screens that will burn out in 5 years anyways.

If MUSG hopes to be a true student voice, they need to provide pertinent data on myMUSG or the main MUSG site (which links directly to myMUSG) such as budget data, senate votes and addresses from the president and vice president. I love this university as much as everyone else but this is just another example of what can be done to take Marquette University from good to great.

This viewpoint was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 20, 2005.