Letter to the Editor: SGA makes students’ voices heard

by Hugo Dante

I am sure candidates running for a position on the Student Government Association’s executive committee have been bombarding the campus community with countless promises on what they intend to do if you vote them into office. You might be interested to know that in reality, no officer has any power to make any changes at all on campus. So why are these promises being made? Are they lying to us?

No. The power of SGA does not come from its ability to make legislation; that power is solely reserved for the board of trustees and our university administration. The power comes from the way it represents our students. The power of SGA comes from it being the squeaky wheel that bugs our university administration until positive changes are made. The university always listens to the students. Any time SGA passes a resolution (a recommendation to the university), the university will almost always implement it. Why? Because the students are the reason UNA is here in the first place!

Whenever you choose a candidate for an SGA election, you are choosing to empower the people, groups and causes that they represent. That is why it is critical that you choose a candidate who is willing to take your voice seriously. After all, SGA works much better when it represents all of the students at UNA properly.