The prospect of implementing political parties, which seemed to meet the Student Government Council at Modesto Maidique Campus with reverence and understanding just a few weeks ago, now seems to have lost its allure.
Alex Sorondo / Columnist
As Giovanni Correale, senator of arts and sciences, pointed out at the end of the Nov. 21 meeting, to a senate made silent and tired with the recursive deliberation over how the parties would function, if the senate was really passionate about this, then things would have been moving forward.
“I feel like I’m wasting my time,” Correale said, closing his argument while the senate sat silent and, just maybe, a bit shamed.
Progress has indeed been slow, and SGC-MMC is less enthused about the idea than they initially were. But, considering how productive SGC-MMC has been lately—compared to earlier in the semester—it seems the political parties system might be too complicated, too demanding and too lacking in prospective benefits to give the senate the impression that it warrants the amount of time and effort it requires.
A political party system will introduce some spirit to student government and arouse more student involvement, and a rise in student involvement will likely trigger a similar rise in its governments awareness of student interests, concerns and desires, which in turn could lead to a far more productive SGC—one that not only knows what needs to be done, but works quickly under the demanding gaze of a larger and more informed and invested student audience.
This is speculation, of course, and pretty optimistic at that, but it is feasible, and therefore renders the party system worthy of an endorsement it isn’t receiving.
It cannot fairly be said, though, that the plan is being ignored completely out of laziness. The Nov. 21 meeting saw the passage, most notably, of two bills.
Senate Resolution 1115, passed quickly and without debate, will divide the Accumulated Cash Balance into four categories.
At the end of each fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, the leftover money from the Student Government Association’s budget is placed into the Accumulated Cash Balance, which thus far has been one big pot, accessible to both MMC and Biscayne Bay Campus, amounting to about $4 million.
The new Accumulated Cash Balance Policy divides the account four ways into an emergency cash reserve, a contingency cash reserve for both campuses and “a project planning cash reserve where funds can be accumulated for special, planned projects to be undertaken at a future point in time,” according to the SGC-BBC senate bill, of which the SGC-MMC’s was an identical copy.
Then came SR 1116, written by Senator Correale, which ensures that all buildings henceforth erected at the MMC will have gender-neutral/family bathrooms.
The bathrooms will be a single-occupant room—not the usual setup with two or three stalls and a few sinks—and will be equipped with a baby-changing station.
Correale argued the bill’s validity primarily from the basis of its gender-neutrality, touching only in passing on the family aspect.
While progressive, pluralistic and admirable from an ethical grounding, the necessity of such a bill was called into question by a senator who, while demonstrating his understanding of the benefits provided to transgendered students as well as families, was nonetheless candid in voicing his doubt about whether it was worth the additional expense.
However, the initial expense was never discussed. He was ultimately convinced that it was worth the added expense, and the bill was passed with unanimous consent.
But it was refreshing, nonetheless, to see a senator with the integrity to stick to his opinion, to voice a concern he knew was unpopular and perhaps politically incorrect, and to then display enough humility as to have his mind publicly changed.
SGC-MMC Commentary is a feature that evaluates the student council’
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