Abolish the SA
For a better student representation, for a better GW.
Constitutional Redundancy Act of 2009
04/20/09 10:34 PM
After reviewing the so-called ‘Constitutional Referendum Act of 2009,’ it is apparent that many individual SA senators found it necessary to pander to their own egos. The amendments proposed, specifically changing the role of the Executive Vice President, are laughable at best. The trivial "changes" simply expand on the previous language of the SA Constitution, adding 10 pages to the already 23 page Constitution and also to the 74 page Bylaws to the SA Constitution. Do the students of GW really need a constitution that’s 107 pages long? Are these trivial procedural changes really adequate enough to satisfy the drastic reforms students want to see? In fact, SA President Vishal Aswani, an ardent supporter of the new constitution even remarked that it consists of only "small" and "subtle" changes on WRGW’s News In Depth this past Sunday.
A document that is now being supported by an SA Senate that accomplished absolutely nothing in the past year is now proposing an entire set of constitutional amendments two weeks before the end of classes. This comically epitomizes the incompetence of the SA. These changes could have been proposed weeks, or even months before. Instead, several senators are attempting to ram this bill through the SA senate and will try to convince students that it will bring "broad and sweeping" change. Don't buy it.
It's preposterous to think the SA tools are going to be "reforming" themselves. Students need to be the source of change. Unless we completely and radically overhaul the entire structure of the SA, true advocacy and efficiency will never be realized. Many different SA constitutions have been ratified by the student body before - all of them proposed within the SA. They have all been based on the premise of fixing all the problems of the SA. And of course, we go back to square one only a few years later. We continually have the same amount of corruption, incompetence and lack of action year after year despite the new SA constitutions. Let's hope Senator Dobson and others can stop this ridiculous proposition.
A document that is now being supported by an SA Senate that accomplished absolutely nothing in the past year is now proposing an entire set of constitutional amendments two weeks before the end of classes. This comically epitomizes the incompetence of the SA. These changes could have been proposed weeks, or even months before. Instead, several senators are attempting to ram this bill through the SA senate and will try to convince students that it will bring "broad and sweeping" change. Don't buy it.
It's preposterous to think the SA tools are going to be "reforming" themselves. Students need to be the source of change. Unless we completely and radically overhaul the entire structure of the SA, true advocacy and efficiency will never be realized. Many different SA constitutions have been ratified by the student body before - all of them proposed within the SA. They have all been based on the premise of fixing all the problems of the SA. And of course, we go back to square one only a few years later. We continually have the same amount of corruption, incompetence and lack of action year after year despite the new SA constitutions. Let's hope Senator Dobson and others can stop this ridiculous proposition.
SA Again Proves Incompetence With Chairman Selections
04/07/09 10:36 PM
Perhaps the only possibility of seeing substantial structural reform in the Student Association next year vanished in tonight’s Committee Election meeting. Logan Dobson, the current Vice-Chair of the Rules Committee and candidate for the committee Chairmanship, was defeated by grad student, Jamie Baker. Although Baker emphasized his outsider perspective, Dobson’s loss was clearly a rejection of his personal philosophy.
Dobson served on the Rules Committee this year and knows more about SA rules (as ridiculous as they are) than anyone at GW. Dobson also brings a fresh perspective to the SA and he doesn’t tolerate SA crap, which is clearly the reason the SA tools rejected him tonight.
If the SA is committed to reforming as they claim to be, they should have voted for Logan as a start to cleaning up the unnecessary SA bureaucracy. But of course they didn’t, they’re the SA after all.
Dobson served on the Rules Committee this year and knows more about SA rules (as ridiculous as they are) than anyone at GW. Dobson also brings a fresh perspective to the SA and he doesn’t tolerate SA crap, which is clearly the reason the SA tools rejected him tonight.
If the SA is committed to reforming as they claim to be, they should have voted for Logan as a start to cleaning up the unnecessary SA bureaucracy. But of course they didn’t, they’re the SA after all.
April Fool's Day
04/01/09 12:29 AM
There have been many rumblings and rumors around campus that this website is an elaborate April Fool’s joke. Unfortunately for you current and future SA members, that is not the case.
GW students are just not happy with the way SA has been conducting itself, and this discontent has lasted over a decade now. It’s clear that the structure and petty conduct of the SA is the root of the problem. The inaction, politics, and general uselessness embodied the SA this year, like nearly every other year, and it’s probably going to happen again next year.
Also, you may be wondering who are that made this website? We don’t believe our identities are important. We are not members of the SA, and we do not want to become “celebrities” or famous because of our activism. Abolishing the SA should be a discourse among all students, and remaining anonymous allows the movement to focus on the issues at hand and not on a few people.
If you aren’t happy with the SA, we urge you to sign the petition. Don’t get intimidated by the fancy language and references to the SA Constitution; we needed to add that information to make it crystal clear what our intent was.