OUR VIEWS Consensus Opinion

Campaigns begin

The return from Spring Break marks a new season—the beginning of SGA campaigning season.

Firstly it is important to clarify the fact that the Technique policy does not allow the paper to endorse any candidates, as it is the only weekly campus student publication, and there does not exist another campus publication to provide opposing viewpoints.

So what is all this campaigning fuss about? What is it exactly that SGA does? SGA’s primary function is to make decisions regarding the spending of the Student Activity Fee. Members of the executive board also sit on a variety of campus-wide boards and committees that affect campus policy.

Thus unlike many high school student governments, SGA members have great potential to impact campus. When considering each candidate’s goals, it is important to note that each candidate will only be in office for one year, and to keep that in mind when evaluating the feasibility of the goals.

Also realize that SGA elections are not a popularity contest. Candidates should be picked for the quality of their platforms instead of the aesthetic appeal of their campaign posters. The platforms of each presidential and vice-presidential candidate will be published next week’s issue of the Technique and are available online on each candidate’s website.

Often neglected during campaign season in the midst of all the presidential and vice-presidential campaigning is the race for departmental representatives and class representatives. Unfortunately there is often little to no campaigning for these positions, due to the lack of competition. However, one must note that it is these representatives who have the real voting power in SGA. These representatives are the ones who determine which student organizations get their bills passed and which don’t.

Communication between representatives and their constituents has often been poor in the past—many students are completely unaware of who represents them. Communication is a two-way street; however, and candidates for departmental and class representatives should make efforts to contact their constituency, while students should make a point to figure out who the candidates are and for what they stand.

Those who are elected as representatives should also strive to improve the sometimes tense relationship between the Graduate Student Senate and the Undergraduate House of Representatives. Communication and cooperation between the bodies are necessary to stay away from the problem of useless duplication of efforts and strengthen SGA’s impact.

Consensus editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of the Technique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.