"Why should I vote for Student Government Association? The people in it never get anything done, anyway. They only want to join SGA for their r+â-¬sum+â-¬s. Why should I care?"
After a year as SGA secretary, I have grown tired of hearing that SGA is useless. The sentiment is simply not true. Most students assume the only reason anyone runs for executive positions in SGA is the free tuition and an impressive line on their r+â-¬sum+â-¬s.
The truth is, most - if not all - SGA presidential slates are in it for the right reasons. They sacrifice quite a bit just to run for office.
Campaign planning typically begins in October, and each slate is allowed to spend $2,500, which members of the slate have to come up with independently without violating the Election Code by making a public announcement of candidacy.
In short, no one runs on a presidential slate just for fun. All four positions are difficult and time-consuming jobs comprised of many elements. No executive spends less than six hours in official office hours, and all of them regularly work on SGA projects outside of those hours. Anyone willing to commit to this is serious about wanting to make Ball State University a better place for students.
So, why should the average student care? Several reasons.
First, just like any other public officers, you are paying the SGA executives' salaries. The SGA budget comes from student activity fees; therefore, so do executive stipends.
Second, the executives are the voice of the student body to University Senate, the Provost's Office, the offices of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Business Affairs, President Jo Ann Gora and even Mayor Dan Canan. Students should be confident that whomever they choose to follow Team Us will listen to their views in being the voice of the student body.
A third reason to care has to do with the issues. Potential and elected SGA executives rely on students to provide issues to tackle throughout a term. Yes, each slate has its own platform, but each platform item was developed with you - the students - in mind. If students don't like something on a platform, they should speak up. I have never known an SGA slate that was not open to students' ideas.
As far as accomplishing those student-centered platform goals, SGA has a strong history of doing so. The Jayson Manship administration of 2003-04 worked with the Muncie Indiana Transit System to implement the "Students Ride Free" program. Any student who rides the MITS bus regularly should be thankful for this. Team Tietz, the 2004-05 executives, made professors' names available for course registration - something I think all students can appreciate.
During the last year, Team Us has worked to meet students' needs, and with two weeks before we hand over the reigns of SGA, we are still working. The end of Saturday finals is finally in sight, plans are being developed to expand recreation facilities within the next four years, and more immediately, when Ball State students register for Fall 2006 classes, everything on the Student Services Web site - except the DAPR - should be available at any time of day.
The Loop trial with MITS has been a success, and after it ends this week, we will continue to fight for it to become a permanent presence for east-of-campus neighborhoods - among other accomplishments.
While that's only the short list of what has happened in SGA recently, a full Team Us term report will be available on the SGA Web site next month.
In the meantime, take a few minutes today to vote in our successors at www.bsu.edu/votebsu.
Remember, people who don't cast a vote really have no grounds to complain.
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