Mad About Midd Hooray for the SGA

Author: Dave Barker

I caught up with SGA President Eli Berman '07.5 the other day. With over a semester in the books and a new one ahead, I thought it time to find out what students can look forward to from their representatives in the remaining three months. Judging from completed legislation, students should have high expectations.

If you don't pour over meeting minutes or have been forgoing the news section for Sudoku, the SGA has set a progressive tone. Maybe you noticed a few extra greenbacks in your pocket after the book buy-back at the end of last semester. Thanks to the SGA's textbook requisition bill, many professors have quit procrastinating over book selection. Close to $19,000 ended up with students after last semester's buy-back -a $13,000 increase. "This has been a good year so far," Berman said. "We're continuing to change the culture."

With further tweaking, the textbook bill will benefit students even more. There should be an enforced deadline for professors, not just an e-mail encouraging timely submission. At other schools, professors miss paychecks when they don't submit reading lists.

Beyond addressing our bookish tendencies, the SGA has focused on transportation. Either this weekend or the next, look for the inauguration of a roundtrip shuttle bus to Burlington on Saturdays that will cost the equivalent of a new Grille entrée ($6). In response to the new liquor inspector, who now ranks just below the Williams Eph on campus popularity polls, the SGA unanimously approved a bill to create a student-run shuttle to and from off-campus parties. The service could begin sometime in March. Berman isn't celebrating just yet. "SafeRides is a band-aid for an open wound," he said.

At the College, few wounds can be described as gaping. "We have it really good here," Berman said. Students enjoy such luxuries as three chocolate fountains at the Winter Carnival dance or a choice of major newspapers to read over Corn Flakes. Yet that hasn't kept Berman and company from giving into student apathy. "We can do things to make the SGA more effectual," he said.

The SGA constitution will be revised this semester to limit overlapping committees and councils. More senators will be elected based on their commons instead of their class year. Also look for a new organization of Middlebury's music scene around a Web service called FreshTracks, which would serve as calendar of upcoming concerts and an engine to download music from campus bands and new artists.

Issues in need of examination include the persistent disappearance of dishware from the dining halls that costs the College between $60,000 and $80,000 annually and further evaluation of the experience of minorities on campus. "Minorities aren't as happy as they should be," Berman said.

Based on the SGA's performance in the first six months, I find it hard to believe that these issues will go unresolved. Berman has been successful in leading the SGA by seeking the advice of past presidents like Andrew Jacobi '05 and reaching out to varied groups on campus so that no one is left out when bills are being drafted. If you remain skeptical, attend a Sunday meeting. "We're always open to new ideas," Berman said. It turns out that it's not just the climate change crowd getting things done on the traditional day of rest.