The Reflector

Issue date: 2/27/07 Section: Opinion

I am taking the time to write to suggest disbanding the Student Association. The recent election has showed two very important things: (1) Not many students actually care about the SA, and (2) the SA has lost its creditability for representing the concerns of students. The turnout numbers for the most recent election were pathetic, as roughly 10 percent of the student body took the time to vote. The candidates and administration may claim the weather and the number of uncontested offices played a major role in low numbers. However, the turnout from the last 10 elections have all been dismal, with the lone exception of the referendum vote on student fees which the students passed and the College Board overrode and denied.

It's time to think of a better system of student government, or if student government is even needed. After the election I started to think, what exactly has the SA done recently? Let us start in the early 1980s when the SA president sued Starkville to get students the right to vote in local elections. More recently, the SA has claimed responsibility for fall break. However, if one was to examine the situation, State instituted a fall break because Ole Miss and Southern Miss already had fall break, and the Faculty Senate considered that a threat to State's recruiting draw. Next, the SA claimed responsibility for the academic forgiveness policy. Again, this traces back to other SEC schools and the administration wanting to keep up with the Joneses. We also have the wonderful job the SA did with student season tickets for basketball a couple years ago. Let's not forget the horrible job the SA has done with events left to their control. Scheduling a blind Christian musician for an 11 p.m. show at Bulldog Bash? Did you think no students would be drunk? Hello, college students drink, especially when you schedule a street fair on a football game weekend.

Before you start e-mailing me "How dare you," think about what the SA has done for you. I know the answer I am going to receive before I finish this letter is "They provide a voice for the students to the administration." Well, that is fine in principle. The problem is the administration tends to ignore the SA just as the majority of the student population does. Just to prove the last point, the SA president won the last election with the support of less than 7 percent of the total students at State. Another telling fact is only one office had enough qualified candidates to hold an election. The apathy here shows that the SA is no longer the voice of the student body.

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