Here is an important news bulletin that everyone needs to know. SGA elections started Wednesday, April 18 and end Thursday, April 19. This may come as a shock to many within the student body, some of who do not even realize that they get to vote on Student Government Representatives, but there is an actual election that is held yearly.
Perhaps this is because the SGA elections have not been heavily publicized in the past, nor have they in this year’s election either, which makes it difficult for the student body to know when to vote or to get information on the candidates.
This presents a problem to both SGA officials, who are running for office, and for the student body, since SGA is the organization that acts as the government for the campus. Another way of thinking of SGA is the analogy of city government. They are the government that is over the Texas A&M-Commerce campus, therefore allowing the group to make many important decisions on campus.
Who holds office and senator positions within SGA is a big deal. They are the government that runs the university that you put your tuition money into and where you spend your time. Can the student body afford to let them make all of the decisions without at least a little input from us? The answer is no.
SGA officials are also impacted by the lack of student voting during elections; because, if no one votes, there is not a clear cut winner, therefore making it difficult for SGA to follow their standards. It is also important due to the fact that for the first time since 2001, the constitution has been revised, (although they were supposed to be revised last Spring and then the subsequent fall). If students do not vote on these proposed revisions, then the student body loses its voice from within.
Another point of interest is the fact that all of the positions within SGA for this week’s election, except for president are uncontested. Why is this? Is it because students on this campus care so little about the people who ultimately control the decisions that ultimately govern their lives? Perhaps it isn’t widely known, but should, that students are allowed and encouraged to participate in SGA.
The answer to all of these problems is relatively simple. Students need to vote in the upcoming SGA elections and participate in all important decisions that ultimately control their lives at A&M-Commerce. Perhaps if the student body had less apathy and a little more advertising and planning on SGA’s part, there would be more than one office in the election that is running unopposed.
The voting for the SGA elections will be held between 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. on both days and is simple really. Students can go to the main A&M-Commerce Web site and there is a link that you can vote through. Such a little, easy step, but yet hardly any of the student body will take the five minutes out of their day to vote.
But in the back of our minds we think, “who can blame them when one office is being decided?”
Despite the lackluster ballot, students should pick the best candidate and make change within the SGA with him next year.
Please, don’t ignore the people who organize the student body, GO VOTE!