CU Boulder students are represented by the CU Student Government (CUSG). Learn more about what they do and how you can have a say in who speaks for the student body.

CUSG: A brief overview

CUSG is the official governing body of the more than 30,000 students at CU Boulder. As the most autonomous student government in the nation, CUSG is responsible for allocating $30 million in student fees in order to serve the student body as effectively as possible. There are four main focus areas:

• Advocacy: CUSG focuses heavily on making sure that students feel included, heard, safe and engaged while studying at CU Boulder.
• Representation: CUSG aims to elect and hire a wide range of students with various interests, goals and initiatives that are important to them in order to make our leadership as inclusive as possible.
• Allocation: CUSG helps student organizations and campus clubs achieve their goals by allocating money to them for club expenses. This can include planning events, traveling for tournaments and more.
• Legislation: Our Representative Council frequently enacts legislation based on student needs and concerns in order to ensure that the student voice is heard in major decisions, both on and off campus.

How CUSG works

CUSG is made up of three branches: The executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch.

• The executive branch consists of three student-body presidents, referred to as tri-executives, that serves as the head of the branch for the following school year. This branch also includes the executive cabinet, who work to maintain open lines of communication with student groups and campus leadership.
• The legislative branch, or Legislative Council, consists of the Representative Council and the Council of Colleges and Schools. As a whole, the legislative branch enacts legislation to help better the lives of the student population. 
• The judicial branch consists of seven justices who oversee legitimacy and transparency, in addition to questions of constitutionality in cases brought by students and other representatives at the university. Not only do justices hear cases, but they are also in charge of also providing guidance and advice to both branches of governments regarding the constitutionality behind legislation. 

Learn more about the three branches of CUSG.

Make your voice heard

The main prerogative of CUSG is to hear student input and use it for the betterment of your university. It is important to elect representation that accurately reflects the needs and wants of the student body, and the best way to ensure that is to vote.

With several candidates running for office on a variety of platforms, your vote is a major deciding factor in the types of projects and initiatives CUSG will pursue in the upcoming year. 

CUSG will provide a link to all students via email, social media and newsletters when voting opens. To ensure the voting process is fair and accurate, CUSG will use:

• Ranked choice voting for tri-executive positions. This gives voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third and so forth. This makes it possible to elect candidates by majority vote without the need for a separate run-off election.
• Approval voting for legislative positions. This allows students to cast a vote for as many of the candidates per office as they would like.

Learn more about CUSG and upcoming elections by visiting their website and following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.