Student Government Association elections wrapped up and we have a new student body president to be sworn in next semester.
Rhodes might not be new to SGA, but hopefully he can make some changes regarding the way SGA operates.
Student Senate is supposed to meet weekly to conduct business. Senate canceled meetings at least three times last semester because not enough senators were present for them to have quorum.
The lack of meetings resulted in organizations having to request reimbursements instead of initial funding. It also caused a meeting to run over the time allotted because business had not been conducted in so long.
Senate failed to meet three times again this semester, due to conflicting schedules and lack of legislation to be heard.
Senate needs to meet when they are scheduled to meet. Canceled meetings will cause students to feel like senators don’t want to hear their concerns or are unavailable to help them with funding needs.
Along with the meeting issue, Senate also didn’t seem to accomplish much this academic year. Two major resolutions passed at the beginning of the semester, but no outcomes to those resolutions were provided until last week. This made it seem like the resolutions didn’t advance until just before the elections. With less than four weeks left in the semester, it’s uncertain what will happen to most of the initiatives.
SGA needs to change the way it operates. Senators need to attend meetings and represent their constituents. Officials need to work diligently year-round on resolutions and provide closure for students before the academic year ends. As a whole, student government needs to focus on communication and making changes to improve the OCU experience for the entire student body.
Funding was cut and working around class schedules can be difficult, but when the student body is looking to you for answers or changes, we expect to see more than just a scramble to get things done before the change of office and the semester ends.
So, Mr. President, remember: Change can be good, but be sure you finish what you started and communicate throughout the process.
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