Student Government Accountability

Another chapter unfolds in SGA as Cory Okular and Justen Vrabel take the helm.

We’re hoping it’s another chapter in a different book, because nobody read the last one.

We could list befuddled quotes from multiple students who have no idea what SGA stands for, but the numbers speak volumes to SGA’s lack of publicity.

Only 3.6 percent of students voted in last week’s election.

In our opinion, more students were annoyed by the campaigning outside Kilcawley Center — and apparently inside near the Candy Counter — than actually voted in the election.

But publicity isn’t the biggest issue; transparency and responsibility are.

When The Jambar approached SGA in early April, we wanted to let the student body know what the king of all student organizations does.

We were told to check SGA’s meeting minutes posted online. Unfortunately, those minutes hadn’t been updated for nearly two months.

Our story ran April 4, the same day the minutes were miraculously updated. If SGA is responsible for spending our money, then they should also be responsible for telling us what they spent it on in a timely fashion.

The organization doled out about $32,000 in the last fiscal year. That’s $13,000 less then SGA executive members receive in student stipends.

If they don’t adequately serve the students, then we can think of better and nobler ways to spend their $45,000 in compensation. Perhaps we could afford three full scholarships.

But that’s unreasonable. SGA has a purpose. We understand that.

And, to be fair, our editor-in-chief, who did not participate in this editorial, also receives a full stipend.

He estimates that he spends about 55 to 60 hours a week in the office. We know. We see him here all the time. What we don’t see are the countless hours he spends working at home.

How long do SGA members spend in their

offices again?