Merriam-Webster Online defines bureaucracy as “a body of non-elective government officials; an administrative policy-making group; a government characterized by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules, and a hierarchy of authority; or a system of administration marked by officialism, red-tape and proliferation.” I simply define it as a pain.

In my short time as a semi-adult, the three or so years that I have been relatively on my own as a working girl and college student, I have encountered more red tape than the Mall of America goes through during Christmas season. From student loans to scholarships and the DMV to my insurance company, sometimes it feels like I’ve seen it all. Can nothing be accomplished without a mountain of paperwork? It seems not.

I understand, to a certain extent, the necessity of bureaucracy. Without rules and authority, the world would fall into anarchy, and no one wants that (except maybe 1970s British punk rock bands). I’m in no way claiming that all bureaucracy is bad. Order is a good thing, there’s no denying that. But the bureaucratic nonsense that grinds my gears is the unnecessary kind, the kind that is way more trouble than it’s worth, which, unfortunately, has been the majority of what I’ve had to deal with.

Anyone who has ever had to deal with money and any form of government has surely felt my pain. I had to call a certain office on Loyola’s campus literally every day for weeks in order to cut through the red tape. The problem was simple enough to solve, but because of the bureaucracy of the process, it took almost half a semester to remedy. What’s worse is that I was assured, over and over again, that I needed to wait and the problem would resolve itself. I’m not saying the people I dealt with were incompetent, but it certainly should not have been as big a pain as it turned out to be.

The same goes for the DMV, international travel and a slew of other processes that I’m sure I have yet to encounter but eventually will. These processes, these notoriously long and complicated bureaucratic nightmares, do not have to be so difficult. With a little streamlining and some common sense, so many things could run smoothly and easily. And it’s not impossible. It just takes a modicum of effort.

I’d like to take the time to recognize one bureaucratic process that, as far as I can tell, has at least attempted to make things as easy as they can be. Loyola’s Student Government Association Budget Allocations process, though still a royal pain and far more complicated than it would be in a perfect world, has at least gotten easier as the years have passed. SGA officials have worked hard to make the process of applying for and distributing funds as simple as possible.

And as someone who has personally taken part in it, I can tell you that it isn’t easy, by any means. But what matters is the effort toward streamlining, and for that, I am grateful.

Rebekah Locke can be reached at [email protected]