Student Government is taking positive steps for fairness

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When William Pomerleau resigned from the senate within a week of his election, the student body was faced with a Student Government that had absolutely no elected representatives. Steven Moran, then vice-president of Student Government, had run unopposed. It was the most recent in a string of unelected Student Government officials taking over the presidency.

Tuesday night, the General Student Senate passed a resolution to effectively eliminate the “musical chairs” phenomenon in the presidency. If a president is forced out of office in the first semester of his term, the students now have the right to cast a new vote.

With this resolution, SG and GSS have proven their commitment to ending some of the numerous headaches associated with student governance.

Under Steven Moran’s watch, along with resolutions written and submitted by Vice President of Student Entertainment Derek Mitchell, some changes are in store for the next administration. Campus media will now moderate presidential debates, once composed of questions written by the candidates. Write-in candidates are now able to register up to and beyond the election itself, giving students more opportunities to engage with government.

While Moran’s administration has been forthcoming in proposing changes, the ultimate cure for a lackluster democracy requires student involvement.

• Fairness resolution rejected by General Student Senate (November 8, 2007)
• Op-Ed: Student Government is your problem (November 9, 2009)
• Student Government Is Over-Funded (November 14, 2005)
• Book tax repeal makes positive steps in Augusta (April 19, 2007)
• James Lyons steps up as Student Body President (September 11, 2008)

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.