This week, candidates running in the student government elections kicked off their campaigns. As the elections approach, we at the Wheel encourage students to take who they vote for seriously because these decisions have a direct impact on all of our Emory experiences.
Voting thoughtfully means knowing the duties and responsibilities of each position and voting for the candidate that you believe will best perform these tasks. While we understand that many elections on college campuses – and even federal governmental elections – devolve into popularity contests, we urge students to think twice about simply voting for friends because what leaders do in office will affect our experiences using our money.
The Student Government Association (SGA) funds events hosted by chartered organizations that are open to the entire student body, like the Student Programming Council (SPC) events. SGA also funds long-term projects through the Fee Interest Account, like repairs to McDonough Field, and represents students to the administration and other areas of campus. SGA also oversees the divisional councils and decides whether a club can be chartered and eligible for supplemental funding.
SPC is in charge of large-scale events like Swoop's Week and Dooley's Week, and also puts on other smaller events throughout the year. The SPC President is also considered an executive member of SGA. In the past, SPC has received almost half of the Student Activities Fee (SAF), an $89 fee built into every student's tuition.
College Council (CC) oversees clubs and organizations in the College and is responsible for most of their funding. They also put on events like Culture Shock and Social Justice Week. CC is the divisional council that receives the most in the SAF split because they represent the most number of students.
This means that between SGA, SPC and CC, student leaders have control of more than half a million dollars of SAF money.
That's a lot of money.
While this may not be evident to students on a day-to-day basis, student government elections are important when it comes to larger events or transfers of money. For example, a huge portion of SPC's budget goes to paying for Dooley's Week performers.
Moreover, all of these representatives have the power to change existing rules in the bylaws. For example, SGA recently passed a bill that changes the monetary code, which determines how the SAF is split for future legislatures and students. Many students voiced outrage that University-wide organizations would no longer receive a fixed percentage of the SAF and would instead have to apply for supplemental funding like other clubs.
We at the Wheel encourage students to understand that who they elect as their representatives has a direct impact on these decisions and many others like it. Some ways to get educated about these positions is to read the descriptions of their duties in the SGA Constitution as well as attending SGA and CC meetings, which are open to the public. However, we understand that many students do not have time to utilize these formal avenues for getting educated. We also encourage candidates running for office and current officeholders to take it upon themselves to make sure their constituents know what these positions entail. The Wheel is also hosting debates between the candidates tonight, Tuesday, March 25 in Harland Cinema and on Friday, is publishing annual endorsements for the candidates we believe are most qualified.
The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel's editorial board.
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