SGA sails toward redefined shoreline

Author: Rachael Jennings

In the midst of election hype and political debates and forums, the memory of Middlebury's past elections may seem distant. But the College has known its share of heated decisions and close calls in its own personal way.

Last April, Bobby Joe Smith III '09 emerged as the new President of the SGA (Student Government Association) after a close fight and closely followed race. How is Smith continuing the changes in the College's policies? How is he enacting the initiatives with which he so firmly campaigned last year?

One of the first steps that Smith finds pertinent in ensuring a successful and productive year for the SGA and for the general college community is making sure that Middlebury students know their resources, power and ability to enact change.

"Many students do not even know what the SGA is, what it does, what it can do, or who their representatives are, and that's a problem," said Smith.

"It's a problem not only because it does not allow the student government to accurately represent the interests of the student body," he said, "but it also prevents students from participating in the activities of the SGA and the decisions being made for them in this institution."

Smith certainly understands the capabilities of the SGA, whose main purpose is to formulate institutional policy that directly shapes academic and student affairs. As the Junior class senator in the SGA last year, he was able to grasp more of a handle on how the SGA operates. In observing and participating in that internal structure, Smith realized the true power of the SGA.

"I do not believe the SGA has realized its full potential as a student organization created to 'broaden student discussion and representation on all issues,' and 'represent the student voice in every capacity,' as it details in the SGA Constitution," commented Smith.

"There needs to be a much better relationship between the SGA and the student body," Smith added.

What Smith feels the SGA needs most is the strength and unity of the student body; further, he understands that the SGA needs to do a more thorough job of informing the surrounding student-body of the issues with which they are dealing - in general, Smith knows that the SGA must establish a closer connection with its constituents for a successful term.

In an effort to bring more focus to the SGA, Smith is attempting to redefine the role of the SGA president. In the past, Smith observed that the president has taken on too many responsibilities without allowing each part of the SGA - the Presidential Cabinet, the Senate and the Community Council - to serve its particular function, which has limited the extent of what the SGA could have been doing.

"The best thing I can do as the president of the SGA is to put the natural leaders and talent we have within the SGA and within the student body in a position to succeed," explained Smith. "To use a cliché metaphor, I am the captain of a ship, meaning I steer and coordinate the operations of the ship, but I do not make it run, nor could I."

As he fills this important position, what is Smith realizing that he did not quite expect?

"There are many aspects about the position that one simply cannot plan for that come with the job of being a planner or coordinator of anything," said Smith. "That is where your true character really comes into play, and as a result I never expected to be reminded every day of my strengths and weaknesses."

One of Smith's favorite parts of the job is working with the talented members of his cabinet, the Senate and his Chief-of-Staff Hiba Fakhoury.

"They are all outstanding individuals, and I think we all share a common vision and interest in improving the SGA," said Smith. "I think it's hard not to get excited about all the potential we have this year."

What initiatives will this potential drive? Last year, Smith ran on many platforms for change; how has he been working to activate them? To which will he draw the most focus?

"I developed my platform last year without the intention of prioritizing or ranking any of the initiatives according to importance," said Smith. "They are all important to me, and I intend to put the amount of time and energy needed to reach a desirable conclusion on each one."

However, as the captain of a ship, Smith cannot sail in every direction.

"I am not so na've as to believe the preliminary agenda I have assigned for the SGA will be easy, or that there are not people out there who think it will be impossible to accomplish. If the SGA functions the same way it has over the past couple of years, I do not see us realizing many of our initiatives."

But with Smith's redefined presidential role, he does not see the SGA as the SGA of the past. Therefore, over the first few weeks of the semester, he has mainly been working to establish the new direction of the SGA.

"This will take some time, but if both the members of SGA and the students are on board, than I think the sky is the limit," said Smith.

Even with the sky in his eyes, Smith realizes that the SGA must face the grounded reality of how difficult it is to pass so many initiatives in an institution of Middlebury's size.

"Realistically, many of the initiatives on our agenda will not be able to be put into place until next year," commented Smith. "It takes time for any initiative to be implemented correctly, but I plan to give my administration the capacity to put these initiatives into motion."

What Smith encourages is an active culture of participation. What Middlebury College needs to successfully mandate change is a loss of apathy and a unity in striving for the betterment of the community, beyond what has happened in the past.

"The main challenge I foresee this year is overcoming the status quo," said Smith. "It's too easy to do nothing, to shoot for less, or to do things the way they always have been done, regardless of whether that method was effective or not. But I think we have the right people in place to get the job done, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can do this year."