I was just updating the FAQ section of this site and a quick internet search made me realize that there were far more than the original three schools we had listed with at least one student on their board of trustees. The list is now 21 universities long, including a couple of “systems,” i.e. California State Universities and University System of New Hampshire.

I wonder, though, how this came to be. The most obvious thing to say would be that students demanded it. Yet somehow I doubt that it’s solely that. Universities - especially private ones - are primarily concerned with profit. Letting students onto the board of trustees fits into this: it’s a good business practice. The same way that corporations have share-holder meetings, universities should let students into the fold.