By Staff
If SGA senators are not prepared to do their jobs, then they should get out of the way of those who are working hard to serve students.
In 2003, Texas state politics became a game of hide-and-go-seek, in which a small group of politicians were able to wield control over key operations within both legislative bodies and bring important business to a screeching halt. A group of Texas Democrats in the state's House of Representatives, known as the "Killer D's," fled to Oklahoma during the time when the House was scheduled to vote on a redistricting bill favored by the Republicans. Being certain that the bill would pass if put to a vote, the "Killers" employed a strategy of "quorum-busting" to kill the legislation. (Like almost all legislative bodies, the Texas House requires a quorum, a minimum number of members that must be present in order to vote on legislation and conduct business.)
By remaining in Oklahoma, outside of the state's jurisdiction and even further away from the state House floor, the fugitives were able to prevent the House from voting and the bill expired. Later that year, 11 Democrats within the state's Senate attempted to use this tactic to prevent another redistricting bill from being approved by relocating themselves to New Mexico for 46 days. Their plan was foiled when one of their members broke ranks and returned to the Senate, enabling them to have just enough attendees to make quorum and pass the bill.
Within the University's Student Government Association Senate, a quorum is also required to approve minutes from committee meetings, activate clubs, vote on legislation and execute numerous other tasks. However, the senate has had to end their meetings prematurely and table proposals because they failed to meet quorum at least three times this semester. Typically, the Tuesday meetings will have a sufficient turnout in the beginning, but as time passes more and more members begin to duck out, without even explaining the cause of their early departure. During this past week's meeting, the senate needed a minimum of 30 senators to function. When the meeting commenced at 6 p.m., they were well above this amount, but when roll call was taken again at around 7:48 p.m., they were one member shy of their target number. This means that for the second week a proposal to reform SGA's policy on club budgets was put on hold, along with other pieces of legislation that could amend rules regarding election procedures and impeachment hearings.
Similar to the plight of state lawmakers in Texas in 2003, those members of the University's SGA who are committed to their work and who are willing to sacrifice their time, are left with their hands tied behind their backs when their peers fail to be present. What is different though between Texas' "Killer D's" and SGA's quorum-busters, is that those depicted in the first example are motivated by their political agendas, while the latter are not motivated at all. In the case of Texas in 2003, the politicians intentionally broke quorum, using it as a political strategy because they did not agree with the policies that were proposed. They are at least participating in the government by making a conscious, politically motivated decision not to participate. The SGA senators on the other hand, are merely looking out for themselves and showing detachment when they decide to leave before they have been adjourned. (While there are some students who have to leave to attend class, the rest are sneaking out merely because they have homework, have other commitments, are hungry or are just bored.)
While it is important to maintain a relatively high grade point average, leaving a meeting when there is unfinished business because you need to catch up on your studies is unacceptable. Everyone has homework. However, if you agree to accept the responsibility of serving on SGA, or in any position that requires a significant amount of time commitment, you need to learn to budget your time and homework accordingly.
In recent years, the number of senate members has grown substantially, meaning that the number required to meet quorum has also increased. SGA has a number of options it could take to encourage members to attend and stay for the entirety of the meeting. There should be harsher penalties for those who do not attend and fail to provide an acceptable excuse - anything short of a class at that time, or a family or medical emergency. Senators should not be permitted to leave their seats without permission and if they do wish to step out, they must explain before the entire senate why they have to leave and provide supporting evidence. SGA could also amend its rules to lower the amount required to conduct business. All these measure might generate results, however, it would be a shame if they had to resort to these measures.
If students choose to hold a seat within senate, they should be sitting in that seat every time their name is called on Tuesday nights. When they do not do their job they prevent others who are committed to their work from being productive, whether they be fellow members of SGA, club leaders or anyone else that has been stalled because of the inefficiency of SGA.
As representatives of the student body, senators, it is your job to serve the students. This requires you to be present at all times, not only when it is convenient, to discuss and vote on all matters of business, and not just those that interest you. Yes, you are not being paid like student governments at some universities, but neither are many of the students on this campus who devote countless hours to enriching the community. Get over yourselves, and get down to business.
by Andres Soto