Student Government Association held a forum Wednesday with a panel of Muncie and Ball State officials in an attempt to help students voice concerns and ask questions. For the most part, the forum was a calm discussion between students and the panel.
But everyone left without a solution.
Forums are an excellent way to help SGA get input about an issue. They usually involve an organized debate or discussion, which then gives SGA members a better understanding of how students feel. However, successful forums need to be planned, well organized and publicized.
This takes time, and sometimes students want answers immediately.
When it came to the presidential search committee, SGA members waited until they had time to ask their constituents before making a decision. They turned in a petition and held a rally, but something could have been done faster.
If every issue could wait until SGA gathered a consensus, holding a forum or getting a petition would be the perfect solution to cure campus ills. But that is not the case with student reaction to the "Police Yourself" campaign and Muncie's crackdown on student alcohol use.
Students organized a forum that gathered enough people to fill a residence hall lounge. Monday, around 150 students rallied and protested in response to the campaign and crackdown, begging SGA to do something about both. SGA's response to the crackdown and campaign was a forum. Though it was productive, students still left wanting more.
SGA senators were elected to help make decisions. Some of those decisions must be made immediately, while others can wait. This decision cannot wait.
The students want answers that they have trusted SGA senators to give.
Hopefully, Ball State will not have another problem that warrants such rapid attention. But right now, it does, and SGA is the students' source for action within the university.
Taking temporary action can help give SGA a quick alleviation to an ongoing problem and then give senators more time to get back to their constituents.
There is no instant boxed mix for making decisions that will best suit Ball State's student body.
But that should not stop SGA from trying.
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