Spring 2016 Editorial Board
Although the SGA elections have passed, there is still a way to directly influence its direction for the next year.
Apply for SGA cabinet positions.
We encourage students to apply and let their voices be heard. An issue commonly cited by students is that student government leadership isn’t reflective of the student body it represents.
This is most apparent when it comes to the amount of Greek students on campus compared to the amount of Greek SGA members.
Approximately 25 percent of Auburn students are involved with Greek Life, with the remaining 75 percent being unaffiliated.
In SGA, the representation is almost flipped. Twenty-eight percent of SGA members are non-Greek, and 72 percent are Greek.
This makes sense for a couple reasons.
Fraternities and sororities vote in blocs, so their candidates usually have solid support without having to put forth very much effort to garner votes.
Furthermore, folks involved in Greek Life are the type of people who are more inclined to get involved with all sorts of things, SGA included.
Older Greek leadership pushes younger members to pursue leadership roles.
But we believe such a disparity in the amount of non-Greek students on campus and the amount of non-Greek students in SGA is unreasonable.
It’s important to note that current Greek SGA members do not bear all of the blame for the situation.
Greek SGA members can’t be slighted for having the desire to acquire SGA positions. That sort of behavior should be encouraged. Non-Greek-affiliated students must put forth more effort to have their interests more accurately reflected in the student government.
Another criticism from students is that, although there is a good percentage of women in SGA, there aren’t enough in high-level leadership positions.
Some students are simply unaware of the cabinet positions. However, this year SGA members such as Trey Fields and Benjamin Baker have made great efforts to inform students about the cabinet positions.
These positions include but are not limited to: executive director of elections, director of schools’ council, assistant vice president of finance and director of Auburn Answers. Some of the duties these positions include are overseeing student elections and managing student government relations with the Balfour ring company.
Assistant vice president applications are due March 6 at 7p.m.
Remaining cabinet positions applications are due March 11 at midnight.
We encourage all students to take a look at the available positions and to take the time to apply for one.
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