SGA should preserve representative democracy
In addition to a new Student Body President and Vice President, Wichita State students elected 38 senators to Student Government this spring.
Every year, Wichita State’s six colleges elect senators to represent them in SGA – two to five, depending on the size of the college – along with 15 At-Large Senators voted on by all students, two Returning Adult Senators, two International Senators, one Out-of-State Senator, and one Veteran Senator chosen by each respective population.
Of the 38 senators elected at the end of last semester, only 27 returned this fall to serve their term. For various reasons, 11 students chosen by the student body will not actually be a part of SGA.
That’s a shame.
The student body voted in good faith for the students they felt could best-represent them. SGA is supposed to be the voice of the students. That can’t be the case if the duly-chosen representatives don’t attend a single meeting or even take part in a single vote.
This is an issue year in and year out. It might just come with the territory. When you ask 38 college students to commit a year’s worth of time to something, you have to expect at least a few to back out – often for completely valid reasons. There isn’t much that can be done to prevent that.
That being said, there should be some measures in place to account for it.
Right now, any student can apply for one of the unfilled SGA positions. They just have to be screened by the Student Body President and then voted in by the Senate.
This gives Student Body President Paige Hungate the power to potentially stack the Senate with rubber stampers who will blindly push through her policies.
That isn’t what the students voted for.
Even if she is fair and balanced while vetting applicants, which I would expect to be the case, it could still raise some questions.
The student body deserves to feel confident that the SGA is representing their best interests. To do that, the SGA should find a way to get students more actively involved in choosing replacements for senators who go AWOL.
Concerned Shocker • Aug 29, 2017 at 1:29 am
I absolutely agree with this. WSU needs to correct the way that students are appointed and approved to serve on SGA so that there is actual representation of differing ideals. The last two sessions had the same process of appointment, and were used to stack SGA with left-leaning students who could demonize the few on the right and silence all voices of dissent on campus. Where was the outcry then? There hasn’t been an accurately-proportioned student government for years at WSU. The conservative voices, which make up a much larger percentage of our population than we can see, have been completely drowned out by lies and outright bigotry. The few conservatives in SGA aren’t allowed to legitimately debate or vote in the interest of their constituents because of the hatred, bullying, and disgust that they receive from the majority of our SGA.
If we truly value diversity, then we should also value diversity of thought; respect and understanding for other points of view, and the right to represent those ideals. Right-leaning representatives have given that to the rest of campus… Why can they not do the same for us? I want representation. I want my voice, and the voice of the half of the nation that feels the way I do to be represented. Bring back debate. Bring back sensibility. Bring back education. Let’s all work together to find better ways of solving America’s problems, because the current way isn’t working.