Politicking is a hard game to play, requiring a balance of professionalism and properly executed ideas.
Unfortunately, your Student Government Association hardly ever has the chance to do that, seeing as how they hardly do anything at all.
Almost every week, they amend their bylaws and talk about what the organization needs. What’s missing here? Oh, yeah, the student body.
Yes, they have talked about how to represent the students, but that’s all it is — talk. They are not tackling any student issues or taking any action.
For example, look at this week’s SGA story.
The idea of adding a pay phone on campus for long-distance calls isn’t even a real issue.
If it’s an emergency, the IUS Police can make a call. If it’s personal, it isn’t hard to go across the street to a gas station and use a pay phone there. It’s not a big deal. Most just use a cell phone.
They’re so off-the-mark of what students need.
Only a handful of students outside the SGA take it seriously. It is recognized as an organization, but the members of the SGA have little power. The reason they don’t get anything done could be because the group itself is inept.
The money given to the SGA comes from the Student Activity Fee allocation, which is given out to all sorts of organizations on campus, including The Horizon.
So, the student body pays the SGA to meet every week, twiddle their thumbs and talk about a few things they don’t really do anything about. If nothing else, they talk about internal affairs more often than issues. There may be a bylaw amendment here or there but, trust me, nothing ever gets done to help the students.
Now, that’s not to say most of the members are lazy, although that may be a contributing factor. I’m saying there’s poor management and a lack of an earnest desire to do what they’re supposed to do.
It seems they just can’t quite find their niche on campus. One thing I saw recently was a “Survivor Day” for students, which would involve an obstacle course and games. The event would go hand-in-hand with a scholarship.
Yes, the scholarship part is nice, but this is an event. The Student Programming Council, among other groups, sets up events. The SGA is given money to responsibly tackle student issues — not find ways to have fun.
This problem of planning events and not representing students has been brought up by the Student Life Committee, which oversees the SGA’s budget, time and time again.
The SLC has cut their funding a few times in previous years for not fulfilling their nearly singular purpose on this campus.
Even with a new administration, the group continues to mirror the activities of other organizations because they’re out of touch.
The perennial question the SGA can’t seem to answer is how to help the students. Doing so, however, means standing up to the administration from time to time.
Blasphemy? No. It’s just the name of the game. I’d like to see the SGA challenge a policy for the students’ benefit.
There can be no meaningful discourse of an idea if the SGA doesn’t take a stand. Student government can’t function without some form of opposition.
I’m not saying any of this to degrade any members of the SGA. Rather, this is a wake-up call for them to step their game up and do something. We are more than halfway through the semester, and they have nothing to show for it. As of right now, I have no confidence in their ability to represent or lead the student body.
Those who hold office in the SGA are paid. They don’t get paid much, mind you, but they are compensated. As a result, it is our right to expect them to at least do their job. Paying them so they can have a stronger résumé is a huge waste of Student Activity Fee money.
The sooner they get over their egocentric approach of just handling internal issues, the more they’ll be able to help the student body.
By JOSEPH DEVER
Senior Editor
jwdever@umail.iu.edu