This is the first of two editorials addressing the suggestion of a one-council student government.
Due to a lack of filled positions, general inefficiencies and redundancies present within the two-council system, The Beacon believes a one-council Student Government Association would be more effective. However, we take this stance with several reservations.
As of now 58 of the 62 positions of the Student Government Council at Modesto Maidique Campus are filled. However, the Student Government Council at the Biscayne Bay Campus currently sustains 13 vacancies of the 42 available positions. Clearly, SGC-BBC is having issues with keeping their seats filled to provide adequate representation for their already small student body, further endangering them of under-representation when it comes to University-wide concerns.
Because these councils operate as two separate entities, it is imperative that they meet to communicate. However both councils have failed to fulfill the monthly joint council meeting mandate. Additionally, several University-wide council meetings have been cancelled during Fall 2010 and Spring 2011, further widening the gulf of miscommunication.
Also, both councils have various redundant positions where one student could effectively serve both campuses’ in both positions. For example, the press secretary position is one that unnecessarily has two separate individuals. We communicate with the press secretary often and, from where we stand, with proper communication the work of both press secretaries could be easily handled by one individual, perhaps with a deputy for BBC, if that.
Furthermore, while the student population at BBC certainly deserve representation, the current council structure echoes that of an autonomous institution, which contradicts the fact that BBC is ultimately a satellite campus of one University, not a separate establishment.
With the current student government set-up, under-representation of BBC under a one-council system is a real possibility. The senators at MMC could easily overpower the senators at BBC, making it very difficult, if not nearly impossible, to pass initiatives that are campus-specific.
Couple that with the severe lack of filled positions in their council, one can see how BBC could be ignored and rendered incapable of doing what needs to be done in order to represent its student’s interests in a one council system. Granted, such issues exist in representational government and somehow initiatives are still passed, albeit with compromises.
On a larger scale, SGC-MMC naturally favors the issues of their campus and may oppose or be completely unaware of the wants and needs of BBC, and vice-versa. This could be a source of conflict in a one-council system However, if structural and procedural changes are made, the one-council can still streamline SGA overall while giving fair and equal representation to both campuses, in addition to eliminating a host of redundant positions between the two councils.
As stated in a Fall 2009 Beacon editorial, our University leadership structure offers a prime example for SGA to follow: several administrators represent their respective schools and departments, but at the end of the day they report to one president. Likewise, SGA should streamline their structure to reflect a similar system, but major revisions must be made that will strive to eliminate under-representation.
About Post Author
