CUSA, then and now

In the Charlatan, CUSA Prez' Sean Menard tells the charlatan:

“We’re a student union,” he said. “We represent the interests of the students in regards to issues like rises in tuition fees. It is our job, as elected by our peers, to represent the majority of the students at Carleton.”

In regards to the pamphlets circulated by CUSA on campus last week calling itself a political organization, Menard said the words were taken out of context. He said students did not understand the issue entirely, which led to rumours and confusion.

“CUSA is inherently a political organization because it represents the students in regards to [student] issues,” he said.

That pamphlet writes (sorry, no link):

It is important to understand that CUSA is not a “student government” as some people incorrectly call it. It is a political organisation that takes political positions on all sorts of issues. What is being proposed is that CUSA doesn’t support anti-choice actions if asked to do so. This is in line with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is our right as an organization to decide.

I don't have a degree in political science, but don't governments also represent the issues of constituents? The confusion that erupted over CUSA's decision to declare itself a non-government was not because we didn't understand that they can take political stances, but that their declaration just didn't make any sense in the real world. It's nice to see though, that there is no academic cutting-and-running for them.