The Student Government Association (SGA) and College Council (CC) recently passed a resolution supporting an open letter drafted by Emory Students for Students, calling for the University to increase the student minimum wage from $9 to $15 an hour.
While the resolution was passed in a good faith to address the rising price of living in Atlanta, SGA has not taken substantive action to follow up. Instead of continuously promoting performative resolutions, SGA and CC should concentrate their efforts on reasonable and practical bills and resolutions.
The resolution supporting an increase in wage was a futile attempt considering no part of the Bill shows any actionable plan to implement the increase. Bill 66 C10 authorized the dissemination of the bill to the student body, and met with the University's administration and other student organizations like Emory Students for Students to work on pushing the resolution. However, there is no tangible plan within the Bill itself. CC continues to pass bills with little substance, wasting valuable time that could be spent on improving Emory in other, more practical ways.
This isn’t the first performative resolution SGA and CC have passed in recent years. Last year, both SGA and CC passed a resolution that called for the renaming of the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. The resolution was in response to Schwartz funding Heather MacDonald, a conservative political commentator, to speak at Emory in spring 2020. MacDonld’s speech sparked controversy on campus after she claimed that “rape culture” was a myth and disavowed affirmative action in higher education. The resolution merely prompted a response from University President Gregory Fenves, who denied the request to rename the building. Moreover, CC and SGA accomplished nothing beyond a three paragraph statement on the Emory website. SGA’s focus on issues of identity with little substantive action is a clear case of the lack of understanding in how their own responsibilities can bring about change.
SGA and CC have a range of powers at their disposal to better student life at Emory. CC is in charge of club chartering, passes bills in coordination with different Emory offices and lobbying for resources for students on campus. When properly wielded, these powers can bring about substantive change that affects the daily lives of students at Emory.
Recently, CC legislator Rhea Gupta (23C) began the process of collaborating with the Department of English and current students within the department to implement a more diversified curriculum. Gupta’s effort involves an overhaul of the curriculum which will have long-lasting impacts on the lives of Emory students by making students engage with new theories and authors. The collaborative nature of Gupta’s approach, combined with the concrete plan of action, are what have made her initial efforts extremely impactful. She gathered student signatures advocating for a curriculum change and presented them to faculty. Later this semester, the English Department will engage in a curriculum review where Gupta’s proposed changes will be considered. SGA and CC should focus on efforts such as Gupta’s, narrowing in on specific changes with concrete plans that address student concerns.
The most salient issue of CC is its structure. Bills and resolutions are passed without subsequent accountability measures. Legislators do not have to give progress reports regarding bills or resolutions they have passed, and there is no way for other legislators or the wider University to know how effective CC’s proposed changes have been. CC needs an accountability mechanism where legislators give updates on previously passed resolutions and bills in order to see what has been effective. Without accountability, substantive changes to the University will be reduced merely to suggestions without concrete actions.
The changes don’t have to be complex; they can be simple reactions to student demands, such as the hours in the dining hall or the shuttle schedule. CC has the authority to work with the dining services to address student demands and advocate for better hours in Dobbs Common Table and Cox Hall. Another substantive change CC and SGA could promote would be working with other departments, such as the History department to diversify their curriculum. Students have a host of needs that SGA has the power to address, but when they lollygag on resolutions with irrelevant plans, they are wasting the time and resources given to them. Student government has the power, they should use it.
Instead of spending money on lip service for the student body, SGA and CC should focus on implementing changes they can actually make. College Council would also do well to listen to student critiques in order to pass resolutions that they can both have the ability to implement and that reflect the will of the student body. Bills that merely suggest actions the University should take do not ultimately make substantial changes. College Council: start doing your job by passing more substantive legislation, especially at the expense of performativity.
Assistant Editorial Board Editor Demetrios Mammas (23C) serves as a chief of staff for the College Council and Editorial Board Chair Ben Thomas (23C) serves as chief justice of the Constitutional Council. Both recused themselves and none were involved in writing or editing this editorial.
The above editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is composed of Rachel Broun, Jake Busch, Kyle Chan-Shue, Sophia Ling, Demetrios Mammas, Daniel Matin, Daniela Parra del Riego Valencia, Sara Perez, Ben Thomas, Chaya Tong and Leah Woldai.
Correction (2/18/2022, 5:23 p.m.): This article was updated to reflect that College Council is in charge of club chartering rather than Student Government. Additionally, the article was updated to include that College Council and Student Government Association met with administration and other individuals and student organizations while drafting this bill.
Correction (2/18/2022, 8:44 p.m.): The article was corrected to acknowledge that College Council does know where the funds will be coming from and updated to refer solely to the wording of the Bill itself.
