More Accountability Is A Good Move For SGA

The Student Government Council at the Modesto Maidique Campus took a step towards accountability with their decision to add more required signatures to contingency fund requests.

The bill requires signatures from the SGC-MMC vice president, speaker of the senate and chair of the finance committee on any requests greater than $3,000. Currently, only the signature of the president, comptroller and vice president of Academic and Student Affairs are required. 

The bill was initially introduced at a University-wide congress, where senates from both campuses converged, on Monday, Oct. 21. In typical SGA fashion, an eager-to-leave Congress did not meet quorum to vote and it was delayed for another week. In SGC-MMC senate next week, the vote was tabled in order to have time to discipline senators who had not been meeting office hour requirements. The bill eventually passed on Monday, Nov. 4.

But despite the lengthy process of the beneficial bill, it signals a positive turn for SGC-MMC.

Since last Spring, SGC-MMC has been trying to start fresh and move past the scandal of the resignation of a president and multiple senators.

And while problems persist within SGA—mostly disorganization and a learning curve for new members—even the legislative spats shows that senators care about the students they represent. 

SGC-MMC has come a long way from the petty bickering that plagued a largely unproductive last year. New leadership is in place with Sabrina Leeloo Rosell, an effortless politician who has earned the respect of her staff and University administration.

That combined with a high senator turnover rate and new senate leadership has led to multiple bills and resolutions that will benefit the student population. This is also thanks to the senators who have remained, Brandon Aquino and Rose Ingraham among them.

While SGC-MMC still struggle with student engagement and filling the seats of the Ricardo Silva Stadium—high on the list of priorities for Rosell—they are taking steps in the right direction.