Is being in SGA that serious

The student Senate made history on yesterday; they met and had a quorum for the first time since October 9. A small victory surely, as the nature of the meeting, a special session called by Student Government Association President Carey Ash, was a somber one, although Ash would disagree. “This is not a case of sadness; not a case of pity, not of shame,” he said.
Ash called the senate into a special session following the removal of Channing Blake, the association’s past vice president. The removal came to Blake via letter, after it was revealed that Blake failed to maintain a grade point average of 2.5, a stipulation of holding an office.
Yes, it was a special session for the Facebook ages-there was a guaranteed profile quote from Ash at least every two minutes. Among them, “It’s always hard to lose a soldier.”
Ash and his Senate appear to be back on track to do what they were voted to do, although with the semester quickly approaching April, one must wonder how much they can do at the late date. After finding out that the senators had not made a quorum-the bare minimum to conduct a meeting-it raised a personal question for me: why haven’t all of these 21 people, who tested and in some cases were appointed to their positions, been doing their jobs and shown up?
Granted, there were some leadership problems, but even the problems could have been resolved had someone, anyone, came to a meeting (that had not been cancelled), right? While the ever-going rumor mill is swirling about the ‘political power moves’ that have taken place, what with the late date of Blake’s removal, it does not mask the real meaning behind what has been done. If students want to continue to have some sort of credible government, the government itself needs to have credible checks and balances. Liken it to the bank finding long lost money in your account, and giving you interest on it as well. Will you fight the bank because it took its sweet time refunding your money?
It seems that all politicians are coming under fire for something or other these days; Senator Clinton ‘misremembers’ Bosnia, Senator Obama defends his hometown pastor and ex SGA vice president is removed due to his GPA.
Perhaps recent events within the senate and the student run government should give SGA hopefuls a glimpse into the campus political game past candy and free scantrons; apparently the SGA is not to be played with.
After leaving from what I have nicknamed ‘Ash’s Sermon in the Union,’ it makes me wonder, however, if we may be taking these matters a bit too seriously.
While many past presidents have gone on to have careers in the political arena, countless others have not. They have not taken over the world, become President of the United States, nor found a cure for cancer. It may seem harsh or even pessimistic to say, but after I cross ‘The Hump’ day after day, the SGA matters that were discussed with friends earlier that day are things of the past. Don’t get me wrong; student affairs are important while in college, but it will not cross over into ‘real world’ matters. How many people are being hired based on what bills they passed while in the Student Senate?
As a student who has lived both on and off campus, I find that matters of importance change greatly from person to person. It as been my experience that commuters are often out of the loop in SGA matters. When I brought up the subject about Blake’s removal to a friend, she had no idea that there were problems prior to Friday’s issue of The DIGEST. I do not believe that it was a matter of ignorance on her part, rather the fact that in some cases campus issues are not extended or catered towards off campus students. I have sat in SGA volunteer meetings and have witnessed an effort to reach those who are forced to park in the far reaches of campus at the stadium, or behind buildings where one has to fight for both a space and unknown creatures in the grass. So, it would be unjust to say that SGA does not attempt to reach out to all of its constituents.
While the ‘Sermon in the Union,’ at the very least gave the audience a few quotes for a social site, the fact remains that the student body will have to choose an entire new leadership for the upcoming academic year. Instead of choosing said leaders based on who has the best t-shirts, candy, tents and slogan, perhaps their integrity and dedication to us, the students, should come into place, instead of the best Homecoming or SpringFest.