On Tuesday night, I had the pleasure of copy editing Michael Warren’s column on changing SGA’s name.
I’ve stayed late on Wednesday nights waiting for the O’Colly’s SGA reporter to return with his story.
I have friends who are in SGA.
But none of the above has ever made me care about SGA.
Warren has apparently deluded himself into thinking a change of name will compel students to care.
Wrong.
He hit the nail on the head when he wrote “The biggest problem in SGA is the unproductive culture of the Senate.”
SGA repeatedly violates Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act by not listing business on the agenda correctly, attempting to vote after quorum was lost and illegally trying to impeach Warren, among other things.
SGA also violates its own rules.
Let’s take for example voting to change SGA’s name. According to SGA’s Election Agency’s rules, approval to hold an election must come from a vote of those in the Election Agency.
The approval of this vote came from the Election Agency’s chair only. Oops.
I’d tell you where to look on SGA’s Web site for that information, but it is conveniently not listed.
Also, people might be more inclined to care about SGA if SGA members would stop catfighting amongst themselves like a rabid pack of sixth-grade girls.
Really, if I wanted to see that, I’d watch “Mean Girls.” It’s more entertaining and actually has a point.
In his column, Warren goes on to bash his vice president and future SGA president, Emilee Lehenbauer. I’d never publicly bash my editor-in-chief or co-editors. It’s unprofessional, Mr. Warren.
Incidents like this only further alienate students and increase apathy.
SGA’s one big event of the year for students, Street Party ’08, was canceled because the SGA members in charge failed to properly plan the event.
On behalf of the student body, I’d like to thank SGA for doing such a wonderful job.
Not.
I am glad the proposed name change was shot down, but I admit I was a bit sad I didn’t get to watch the fight that surely would have arisen when the legality of the student vote was contested.
But getting “Oklahoma State Student Association Reporter” to fit on a single line in a byline would make my life difficult.
As a student, I can say that it is disappointing to see how irresponsible and negligent the organization responsible for representing us.
SGA members can complain about students not caring and can come up with a million fruitless ways to get us to care, but until SGA members stop being so self-important and start focusing on students, we’re simply not going to care about SGA. Sorry, guys.
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The unedited version was so much better.
Yay censorship!
Not.
-BS
In your column you state that you copy edited Mr. Warren’s article, so my question is how did you interpret that he threw his Vice-President under the bus in any way?
What are you talking about?
I appreciated Mr. Warren’s remarks, and have enjoyed them all year. He tells the truth.
Breanne,
I heard you were looking for where SGA posts its rules. The best place to look is online, go to http://www.osusga.com and click on the resources. There you can find your SGA constitution and by-laws. The information on the election agency would be under the by-laws link and then just click on Title 9. There you can find all of our rules about elections. I know they are a little difficult to interpret, but Emily and I would like to come with a student friendly supplement.
I also got the feeling you felt like SGA didn’t have anything for you, that might be the fault of us not advertising enough. We did most of our advertising through the O’colly maybe we should look into some other venues for next year. I’ll list a few things you might want to get involved with next year, they are all some very interesting programs. Maybe you can help us spread the word.
The big event, if you are looking for a way to meet some Stillwater residents it might be a fun time. I personally enjoy the event.
Take a Kid to the Game, this is my personal favorite. You get to spend an afternoon with some underprivileged children and watch the greatest sports program on earth, go cowboys.
Cowboys care, if you have a friend or loved one serving with the United States military we had a day where we footed the shipping bill to send care packages.
We had Orange Slice which was an outdoor concert that over 1,000 students attended. Stillwater’s local music has always been awesome.
Cowboy Cousins, is a program where an American student is paired with an exchange student. It is a great opportunity for both people involved to really grow plus it is a great way to make new friends.
SGA also helps get money collected in student fees back to the students. We don’t collect the fees or set the amount of fees collected but we do try and get what we can back to the student.
And more but you’ve probably stopped reading all ready
Mike and Emilee are both close friends of mine. When I read your article I was shocked Mike would do that to Emilee. So, I read the response and called mike. Neither of us could figure out where you got that. I can ensure you though Mike never meant to insult Emilee.
Thanks for your time, good luck with finals, and enjoy the rest of your school year.
Dillon Wilcox
SGA Vice-President elect
dillon.wilcox@okstate.edu
(918) 629-5236
Breanne,
Your artical has a stench of apathy in itself. The thing that alot of people don’t understand about SGA is that it’s not fun. It requires commitment and a true obligation and care for the students and this University. There is real work that takes sacrifice and much time to accomplish. SGA is not the “fun” thing to do but oh is it ever necessary. Only few SGA members recieve any monetary benefit for their time and if they do, it is far under par with other university SGAs. And please, if I care about my resume, I would have invested my time elsewhere. Yes, there are certain members of SGA that are there for the wrong reasons. But, the greater majority have a heart for the students.
I challenge you to investigate further why Street Party 08 didn’t happen. It began out of a concern within a Senate committee–the Student Commission Alliance Committee. It was never part of the executive programming. Even if it were, it wouldn’t have been the only event. SGA has done quite a few events and has plans for many more.
Are there problems with SGA? Yes. However, there are problems with many organizations as no one is perfect. Look at The Ocolly for example, of which you are obviously a member. No offense, but the OColly is one of the more despised and criticized programs on this campus and I guarantee you, definitely more unpopular that SGA.
The point is, we both continue on in hopes that we make a difference. Please save your negative and apathetic opinions/thoughts and work on being constructive and at the very least, positive.
Ben Stukenborg
Student Government Senator
Street Party 09 Director
ben.stukenborg@okstate.edu
(412) 225-5247