STUDENT GOVERNMENT: Preliminary problems need to be addressed first

By: Alex Sorondo/Contributing Writer

Consider the plight of the handless man who cannot decide which pair of gloves he wants to buy. Severe though his predicament is, there is an underlying problem that is not getting any attention, a problem that is so obvious, he has actually forgotten about it- the fact that he has no hands.

Alex Sorondo / Columnist

Watching such a thing would bear a considerable resemblance to what it was like to sit through the Student Government Council at Modesto Maidique Campus meeting held on Sept. 19 when the election of-and, ultimately, the question of whether to even appoint – an SGA Lecture’s Coordinator became the meeting’s major point of contention.

Graduate Senator Rachel Emas was the first to argue-with admitted futility, since the position needed to be filled and could not be abolished-that, as small a price as it may seem to pay this new Lectures Coordinator her $1,000 salary for providing a service already well-covered by the Student Programming Council, the money could be put to far greater use.

Laura Farinas, the candidate in question, and SGC-MMC President Patrick O’Keefe, who instated the position after fielding administrative requests and complaints, posed the distinction between Student Government Association and SPC lectures as being the distinction between education and entertainment. While SPC books celebrities for lectures, SGA would bring engineers, architects, doctors and lawyers – professionals from whom students might ostensibly gain real insight.

The problem here is that Farinas, the sole candidate for the position, placed particular emphasis on attracting politicians to speak on campus. To me, it seemed that her perception of the job revolved around that exclusive initiative. The big problem with inviting politicians, as was quickly pointed out, is that they tend to bring their politics with them. Thus, to invite a politician might suggest an endorsement of his or her policies, which then suggests University affiliation with, or support of, that politician.

So, this is an issue: should we or should we not risk wasting $1,000 on hiring somebody who may or may not attract a number of professionals to come speak to University students?

Before we get into that, let me turn your attention to how one of the first things asked of the candidate during the senators’ Q&A was how she plans to market these lectures to students, in which she pledged posters, flyers, classroom announcements and so forth. Also, let me mention that her conviction on this matter seemed to be a serious selling point, earning murmurs of approval from across the room.

Note also how one senator mentioned earlier in the meeting that the goal for this year’s “Meet Your Dean” event is to gain attendance into the double-digits, “Which was a bit difficult last time.” Listen to how just about every senator’s report is punctuated by mentioning their aspiration to “get students involved,” “boost student involvement,” “make students interested.”

Student interest and student involvement appears to be the source problem, the hands onto which we fasten the gloves of luxury: lectures, movies and concerts. However, if there are no hands to begin with, the gloves go nowhere. Who is to say how much money we have filtered into hopeful efforts toward boosting school spirit and student involvement?

As Senator Emas, the chief opponent of the Lecture Coordinator position, so discerningly suggested, “Maybe before appointing somebody to be a new lecture coordinator [for $1,000 a year], we should ask students if they even want lectures.” This is what we should have been doing all along, consulting students about what they want before taking expensive shots in the dark.

After a while of catering largely to explicit student demands, once senators and coordinators of varying rank have a solid idea of what students want, what kinds of events they will attend, then at that point they can take the initiative of coming up with the positions and services that need to be implemented and executed.

Until then, we should pinch the pennies we desperately need, and start addressing the problem of guessing what students want and when they should get it. We must get to know the demographic: their tastes, sensibilities and their hours.