Student Government In America

Student government has played a large role in higher education since the 1700s when it was first established in America (May, 2010, p. 207). But before going into the history of collegiate student governments, it must be defined. Student government is a government that is run by the students, for the students. Although it has many different structures throughout higher education in America, student governments share the common mission of representing the student body as a whole to the administration. There are many reasons as to why student governments are necessary, but some of the most common reasons found are to be the voice of all students and to be a sounding board for the administration when they are trying to find out what students

208). There is a large disagreement with where the first student government was in the United States as some say it was at the College of William and Mary and others say it was at the University of Virginia. “While the location of the origin of student self-governance is debated, it has survived and evolved as an integral element of higher education in the United States” (May, 2010, p.

Honor systems were informally created in the 1700s and early 1800s to gain favor with the faculty and some additional freedoms over their actions on campus (May, 2010, p. 210). In the late 1800s, honor systems became formally recognized through written codes and councils. These honor systems evolved from the actions of the literary societies and helped students take control of the institutions disciplinary procedures. During this time period, students were relatively successful in helping to create behavior codes that hold them accountable for their actions. Honor systems had become fully integrated part of student self-governance at institutions by the 1900s and are still around today (May, 2010, p.