2008 Woodie Awards
Democratizing student politics
Issue date: 4/24/08
Furthermore, the Appeals Panel must disclose its reasons for disqualifying candidates because such information will shape student opinion in the coming election. Students should know who was disqualified, what rules they broke and the severity of each violation. Indiscriminate disqualification creates the perception that each candidate was equally guilty, which may not be the case.
The structure of the appeals board further undermines its decisions. It's a three-person body with only one student representative, Student Council President Scott Bierbryer. While there is no justifiable reason to suggest that Bierbryer is biased, the appeals court lacks legitimacy because of its size and lack of students able to balance one another.
Hopefully the judicial branch of the new SGA will be able to serve as a technocratic, sovereign body that can deal with future issues such as this without any doubt of legitimacy.
The CSE, however, will still exist after the new Constitution is established. After these elections, the Student Council needs to take a serious look at how to reform the election process.
The CSE, as it currently exists, is a reactive organization. The body simply responds to complaints that come to it about campaign violations. Moreover its rules are torturous and overly burdensome and need to be streamlined, while the organization needs to become more transparent. Rather, the CSE must be a proactive and independent body that investigates and checks up on each respective campaign with equal vigor to make sure that successive elections are fair.
Hopefully the next election can avoid the bureaucratic quagmire that this one has become. Whoever is elected to the next Executive Council must address electoral reform head on.
The new Constitution may allow the Council to avoid some of this, but it will largely depend on the individuals who will be chosen in these elections and the rules they implement. There is much to be done for the SGA, but first the government must make sure that it is a fluid, fair and legitimate democracy.
The structure of the appeals board further undermines its decisions. It's a three-person body with only one student representative, Student Council President Scott Bierbryer. While there is no justifiable reason to suggest that Bierbryer is biased, the appeals court lacks legitimacy because of its size and lack of students able to balance one another.
Hopefully the judicial branch of the new SGA will be able to serve as a technocratic, sovereign body that can deal with future issues such as this without any doubt of legitimacy.
The CSE, however, will still exist after the new Constitution is established. After these elections, the Student Council needs to take a serious look at how to reform the election process.
The CSE, as it currently exists, is a reactive organization. The body simply responds to complaints that come to it about campaign violations. Moreover its rules are torturous and overly burdensome and need to be streamlined, while the organization needs to become more transparent. Rather, the CSE must be a proactive and independent body that investigates and checks up on each respective campaign with equal vigor to make sure that successive elections are fair.
Hopefully the next election can avoid the bureaucratic quagmire that this one has become. Whoever is elected to the next Executive Council must address electoral reform head on.
The new Constitution may allow the Council to avoid some of this, but it will largely depend on the individuals who will be chosen in these elections and the rules they implement. There is much to be done for the SGA, but first the government must make sure that it is a fluid, fair and legitimate democracy.
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