By Katie Sittig-Boyd
Staff Writer
As an SGA representative for the Simmons Sci-Fi and Fantasy Club, I am required to attend SGA meetings weekly. Initially I had no reservations about setting aside an hour and a half of my week to be present at the meetings, since I had been attending them since before it was required.
However, it quickly became evident to me that my position as an SGA senator was just that: a position. When I go to SGA meetings, I contribute to discussions and ask questions I deem relevant to the club I represent, but anything I say or ask is something any student could, and is not specific to my standing as a senator.
While attending SGA meetings is beneficial for students, since it gives them the chance to speak with representatives from the Registrar’s office, dining services, and so on, meetings are not typically structured to allow senators to have any direct say in the proceedings by means of an official vote.
I enjoy attending meetings so I can add to discussions as relevant, but as a senator, I remain unconvinced that my status as a senator has any sway over SGA proceedings. What is the point of serving as “senators” if we have little to no say over anything? If we don’t even have much say in SGA proceedings, it is doubtful that senators have any influence over bigger matters at a level higher than student government.
This is particularly concerning when you consider the fact that SGA is thought of as the voice of the people. In other words, it is treated as a means of accessing the opinions of the student body. But when there are few opportunities for our opinions to be utilized, why do the people even need a voice? It’s as though Simmons uses SGA as a means of tricking students into thinking they have a voice, if only to satiate our need to be heard.
Simmons claims to want to be more “student-centered,” but until students have a more direct voice in institutional and administrative decisions via student government, the concept of student-centeredness will remain a feel-good illusion.
