The Facts: Matthew Woodward officially resigned from his post as president of the Union Activities Board on Monday. Woodward cited his current course load as the reason for his resignation

Our Opinion: The resignation of Woodward makes us question how the University deals with its student leaders, those with a substantial time commitment to an organization on campus

Matthew Woodward officially resigned from his post as the president of the Union Activities Board Monday. Woodward cited his current course load as the reason for his resignation. The resignation of Woodward makes us question how the University deals with its student leaders, those with a substantial time commitment to an organization on campus. We must examine if a better system can be established to foster the success of student leaders.

Woodward’s citing of the conflict between his academics and his organizational duties is not unique; student leaders feel the conflict across campus. For example, at the Technician, editors work between 20 and 50 hours a week. The student leaders across campus are strained both academically and in their organizational work due to this conflict. Their interests are in conflict when they could work in unison.

There is precedent for the unionization of student interests. A student looking to engage in research can get class credit for taking on an independent study. A student athlete is excused from absences when there is a conflict between games and academics. Students also have the opportunity to receive course credit for paid internships away from the University. This list is not completely inclusive, but serves to illustrate academic and extra-curricular pursuits do not have to be in conflict.

There would be benefits to the University for offering credit to its student leaders. With more time to devote to their organizations, the performance of that organization would improve. Organizations such as UAB have far-reaching effects in their activities; a minor increase in their performance would reap substantial rewards.

We envision a system similar to what is used for assigning independent studies. If a student leader would like course credit for their work they can apply for it as an elective. They would have to outline their plans to meet their goals and submit them. They would either submit their outline to the adviser of their organization or another governing body. After their plan is evaluated they would be approved or denied credit the following semester for their work. Their work would be continually monitored to determine if they lived up to expectations.

The ability of student leaders to receive credit would improve their performance academically and within their organization. With their conflict and workload diminished they would be able to invest more time in both their studies and their work.