An application process for an award or recognition is often important and necessary one. Sometimes.
For a national competition, yes. Rather than scouring the entire United States for a certain winner, competitions tend to offer an application process. It solves the impossible problem of picking a winner by searching thousands of square miles for one.
An award for the best student organization at Quinnipiac, however, should not require such a process.
Presently, organizations must apply for that very award (the Judith Frank Outstanding Student Organization Award) in order to win it. And they shouldn’t have to.
The Chronicle has kept a keen eye on student organizations and their impact on this campus, and there are perhaps a dozen that are really in the running for the OSOA.
The winner should not be decided by the organization which can best verbalize their own accomplishments. The winner should not be forced to explain the great and wonderful impact they’ve had on this campus. They shouldn’t have to pitch themselves to be named organization of the year.
This application process turns modesty on its head. The application this year told students that one of the goals of the OSOA is to “publicly applaud talent and commitment.” It’s certainly an admirable goal, but asking organizations to explain their own talent and commitment shouldn’t determine the winner.
The Student Center and Campus Life Department is incredibly involved with student organizations on campus throughout the year. The professional staff memebrs file forms for the events, help the organizations with the events, and often attend the events. If a student organization is motivated, holding positive and creative events and making great strides, the department already knows about them.
Don’t force these student organizations, many of which are community service-oriented, to explain why they should be rewarded for the work they did.
The student organization that best engages the Quinnipiac community, works to create new initiatives and opportunities and focuses on quality of service and activity should win this award. It shouldn’t be the best organization to apply.
