“Decisions are made by those who show up.” That line has been attributed to people as various as Benjamin Franklin, Harry Truman and President Bartlet of The West Wing. Whoever said it first, it applies just as well to national politics as to student government at Middlebury.
This Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, students will have the opportunity to vote in three different SGA elections: an all-student referendum on four proposed amendments to the SGA Constitution, an election for the two Feb senators and a special election to fill the vacant Cook senator position for the rest of the year. Voting is online from noon to noon at go/vote.
If past is prologue, many students – most students – won’t “show up” this weekend. Recent SGA elections have seen only about a quarter or a third of students turning out. Students rarely sit in on SGA Senate meetings, and although senators, President Taylor Custer and the Student Co-Chair of Community Ben Bogin are required to hold weekly office hours, students seldom come bringing concerns. It is not a stretch to assume that most students don’t care much about student government.
Which brings us to the question of why you should care about student government. Frankly, because SGA matters. In the College Handbook, the SGA is described as “the vehicle through which students can participate in the formulation of institutional policy… and collectively express their views on matters of general interest to the student body.” The SGA is the voice of the students. In matters ranging from the cultures and civilizations requirement, credit for summer internships, the tailgating issue and other social life regulation, student senators and other SGA members have pushed the administration on behalf of the student body.
In addition to lobbying Old Chapel, the SGA has nearly unilateral control over the one million dollars in the Student Activities Fund, paid into by every student each year. That money, overseen by the SGA Finance Committee, funds all student organizations, from MCAB and Mountain Club to DMC and the rugby teams.
Beyond student orgs, the SGA pays for special initiatives that senators think would benefit students – break buses and even MiddView trips are funded by the SGA. Last semester, the Senate voted to pay up to $40,000 to fund a student-designed cabin on Worth Mountain in Hancock for students to use and enjoy.
The point of these laundry lists of budget items and campus issues is to show that SGA is relevant, active and important. The student leaders who participate in Senate and in the SGA’s various committees can have quite an influence over the student experience here. Granted, the administration isn’t always eager to implement student suggestions immediately (or at all), but that is all the more reason why Middlebury students deserve dedicated, knowledgeable, inquisitive representatives. Representatives who will challenge the administration, tackle big issues and think how they can improve our school in the long-term.
So this weekend, participate. Show up. If you are a Feb or in Cook, make sure your new representatives are worth representing you. Read the candidates’ statements, which are posted online at go/elections. Get in touch with them – ask their opinions on the campus issues you care about, and ask them which issues they care about.
And don’t let your “showing up” stop once the votes are counted. Even if you have no interest in running for the Student Senate, there are a number of other ways to make your voice heard. Talk to your representatives and friends in SGA if you have a complaint about Middlebury or an idea to improve something here. Write a petition on We the Middkids. Show up – bring your ideas and make Middlebury better.
