I was once an SGA house representative for a student group on campus. I took my job very seriously on the rare days I decided to show up. If you have the will to control others — or you just love good comedy — I suggest very highly that you urge your student group to allow you to join the SGA on its behalf.
I know a lot of students are confused as to what the SGA does. You could waste your time looking up some empowering sounding official definition like “student voice,” “gateway to the administration” or other such phrases. In reality the SGA is a bunch of kids who love to play government.
Let me explain.
When you were a child, perhaps you had one of those plastic medical kits, possibly with your name and the appropriate “Dr.” written in crayon on the front. You may have played doctor a bit with your favorite stuffed animal, or perhaps you checked your mom’s heart rate to assure her safety. In reality, you are not a doctor. However, in the world of your game, you were the best doctor ever. Truly you saved many stuffed lives.
Essentially this is what the SGA is. However, the SGA is full of individuals who take their game all too seriously, and when play time is over they sit and continue playing under the guise of representing people outside of the game: you, the student body.
How many people reading this actually feel the SGA represents them?
I question this idea first and foremost, and find it to be the silliest premise of all. The SGA is made up of representatives from various departments, schools and student organizations. This means you are now represented in the SGA by some member of the student body.
Yes, this completely makes sense. Well, to some people it makes sense. To me it’s a complete joke.
In reality this means that a very small percentage of the student body is being represented. If I were to pool students of various races and religions into a group, would I have a fair representational body of every student on campus? Of course not. What an incredibly stupid concept.
Somehow the SGA seems more legitimate because it is set up and functions very much like a real government, minus having any sort of power.
It is my understanding that the original reason Student Government Associations began to evolve was to stop school administration from taking away the rights of students. The purpose of the SGA in this case was to create oppositional voice and to keep the student body as free as possible from controls placed by university officials.
Those days are dead, gone and unlikely to ever return. The purpose of the SGA now is to give administration new ideas for future regulations. In case the administration hasn’t thought of new ways to control your daily campus life, the SGA is there to give it fresh ideas to make your Virginia Tech experience a little less enjoyable.
The power of the SGA may be questionable, at best. However, Tech administration has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it loves to control the lives of its students. If given fresh — SGA-approved — ideas on how to better control students, the administration is sure to take them into consideration.
A year ago there was a push to mandate “designated smoking areas” for all the Hokie smokers who practiced their disgusting habit on campus. This resulted in me writing a satirical piece in “favor” of the idea that was published in the Collegiate Times.
My understanding is that this idea originated in the SGA and later became a reality in the form of this new rule mandating that smokers stay a certain arbitrary number of feet away from any building entrance.
The latest atrocity originating from the SGA is a senate bill that calls to allocate $10,000 of SGA funding to a project to aid students in purchasing reusable water bottles and to ban the sale of plastic water (and soda!) in campus dining halls.
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 17 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Someone is quite the alarmist and conspiracy prone.
I think this is a great effort to move forward on saving students money by allowing the use of reusable mugs for drinks. While not involved directly, I personally know a great amount of thought, research, and effort went into this proposed legislation that you are clearly ignorant of.
Our future has to be a sustainable one, one that we have to make conscious decisions and of which decision makers are working to make the transition for people like you easier. If you disagree, perhaps you should go to a university that doesn't have the slogan "Invent the Future"
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haha. sustainability is such a joke.
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I love how you assume you worst. Why not ask questions instead? I just presented this document (http://www.tinyurl.com/vtsgapresent) to the University Council, and I am working with several administrators to make either GBJ or Torg a 24/7 study facility, starting this fall. You are right about one thing though: the governance process needs to be re-evaluated nad structural changes are necessary to truly amplify the student voice. Thus, the house/senate would have legitimate power. However, next time you decide to write a misinformed article, try to actually be solution oriented.
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We don't want the plastic bottles keep the disposable cups. Do you know how many chemicals leech into your drinking water every time you use a plastic water bottle.
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If people want to save money by using reusable bottles they will.
Its not about if the bill wold be good for the environment, its about a bunch of snot nosed little punks making decisions for the entire student body.
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Dr. Satan, the actions SGA takes are not blind ones. There have been dozens of dozens of people, groups, and affiliated organizations that have put countless months of work into this project. These are people both inside and outside of SGA. You know what motivated many of these groups? The fact that during a comprehensive survey we put out, the majority of responders where highly in favor of the reusable mugs. Subsequently, I enjoy your passion you clearly hold for the governance system and encourage that if you want to inflict real change that you actually take surveys, make your commitments, and voice your opinion. I would like to meet up to discuss your points of view at some point- lunch on me. Shoot me an email and we will work something out @ nathanlatka@gmail.com
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hahaha. dozens of dozens. so 12*12 = 144. since it only takes a few people to form a group, ill assume the worst and make that 288 people give a crap about your "bill". going green is bullcrap and just another way to scare people into spending their money. one day you will realize this. maybe not now, but one day.
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Nathan, send your data to the CT and Dr. Satan (if he is man enough to tell you who he is).
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I serve on SGA House of Reps and on the University Council. I may have a small contribution towards the outcomes of the student body, but I act according to my values. I speak to my group regularly to voice their opinions accurately in the house. SGA may only pass legislation that mandates water bottles instead of Hokie Water, but that small change will save students several dollars a semester on their meal plan. In my book that is a victory. Additionally, there are groups such as College Republicans and libertarian groups, who are proponents of small government, and they are represented in SGA.
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The solution is less government. Read between the lines.
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That's right there are so many toxic chemicals in the water from disposable plastic bottles, that's why we are all dying of cancer. Oh, wait, we aren't all dying of cancer, I guess plastic is safe
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If you actually looked into it you would find that reusing plastic bottles can cause health problems. For example some plastics release a synthetic estrogen when they are reused. This can cause reproductive problems in people.
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Additionally, the mugs we have approved have undergone careful critique by Dining Services and corresponding Health Agencies to insure the materials and products used in the Mug's construction are 110% safe. I enjoy discussions like these- let's keep it healthy and fact grounded.
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Very good Chad. You and Vincent make the CT worth reading \m/
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It is quite apparent that you have not used the investigative rigor of a prestigious media source. I regret that the CT has diminished all claims to authority by publishing such opinion based, emotionally lead, uniformed article. As someone who stood up for the CT in discussions with administration about the comment feature I am extremely disappointed with this misinformed information which you are attempting to suggest as legitimate. I challenge you to read the Constitution of the Student Government Association before making such a critique. To the author- individuals like you are the source of the problem, the type of representative who disregards all responsibility to the students. The House allows a member from each student organization on campus and the Senate allows proportionate representation of each college to serve and vote on matters. Legislation is not written by appointed or elected executive 'kids playing government' but rather by legislators, who are as I explained before are elected by the students they represent. If students wish to have a voice in the SGA they have more than enough opportunity to exercise it. Aside from stepping up to serve in the legislative body, students may, by petition, bring any issue to the attention of the legislative. They hold the power to write a referendum, recall an elections, etc.
I urge you to regain the legitimacy of your publication as it has the ability to serve a great purpose on campus and to the students.
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This is in the opinion section. Of course it is opinion based.
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Opinions are one thing, evidence is another thing. It is apparent the writer has done no research in respect to the water bottle issue nor the role of SGA. The article does appear in the opinion section, but the author does not use any facts to back-up his opinion. And it appears that any "facts" he tries to portray in this article are poorly researched and informed solely by the author's personal biases.
Opinions are meaningless if you don't have evidence to back up your claims.
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What I want to know is will we still have to option to use disposable cups if we wish.
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Yes. Disposable cups will still be available. The water bottle legislation was crafted using already established university policy as a guide. Last summer, the BOV approved the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment and Sustainability Plan which will help the university reduce the amount of energy uses and save you money. The water bottle issue is addressed in this document, and is reflected in the legislation. This is the direction the university is taking on this particular issue. We have data from a survey that wen out to every mealplan holder at VT, and had a extremely favorable response to seeing this phase out of bottles take place over the course of a few years.
Vending machines and the athletic facilities are currently not involved with this bill.
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"I advise you to show up to meetings drunk and abstain from all voting."
LOL. One of the funniest opinion articles I've read in the CT.
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The water bottles are a terrible idea. They are not actually going to be better overall for the environment. With the embodied energy, etc. it would be necessary for each student to reuse theirs an unrealistic number of times for it to actually be a more environmentally friendly option. Bad idea.
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SGA is great. I enjoy it.
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The writer's main point was to call in to question the functionality of the SGA and if it does in fact represent the entire student body. We instead would like to clarify issues specific to the bottled beverage legislation, which was merely used as an example to support his main point. The writer claims that this legislation does not reflect the wants and needs of the student body. This is a poor example to use, as the proposed legislation actually does represent the broader student body. Students and administrators collaborated for several months on a well constructed survey to assess opinions of reusable bottles and the phase-out of disposable bottles. With over 6000 respondents, the survey results strongly support these goals. The available data also support both environmental and financial benefits to this level of waste reduction at Virginia Tech. A vocal minority in the SGA House & Senate are thus not being responsive to the general student body, their constituents, by opposing this legislation.
Reusable bottle programs and disposable bottle phase-outs such as these are becoming more and more common on campuses across the country. The Board of Visitors and President Steger signed the Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment into policy in June 2009; the first resolution states that "Virginia Tech will be a Leader in Campus Sustainability." Programs such as these are absolutely necessary to make Virginia Tech one of these leaders and do what we claim: "Invent the Future".
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We would be happy to have a civil discourse with any students interested in learning more about the survey and how it informs the proposed legislation.
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This is a great organization
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This is great now we can bring beer into the dining halls.
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E-mail sga@vt.edu if you want that data that proves objectively that the undergraduate student at Virginia Tech support this initiative.
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Well of course it supports your position you threw out the votes that went against your motive. Just like you do when we don't vote for the guys you want.
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Your comments are completely blind. You have no idea the amount of hours and the amount of work your SGA members put in to help make your life better at Virginia Tech. Every member of SGA is passionate about the students on campus and making changes that positively impact the university. We have positions that are designed specifically to reach out to the members of the Virginia Tech community. We survey thousands of students to see what they want to change. From those responses, we figure out how we are going to fix those issues- Hence the 24/7 facility, reusable mugs, changes to transportation, sustainability, and the list can go on and on. We work for you! Your comments are welcome to SGA. If you have any comments or concerns, please direct them in a constructive manner so that we can help make things better for you.
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I know how much time SGA's members put in. But, time does not necessarily equal results. The time needs to be better spent. Transportation, Reusable mugs, Sustainability; students are not feeling any of those currently. SGA needs to serve and make a difference in a way students feel. The programs you listed begin to support the authors point - doing things just to make ourselves feel important (Although I have a lot of respect for the pursuits of a 24/7 study facility.)
There may be positions to hear students, but what about their effectiveness? SGA may listen to voice, but SGA can't just listen - SGA need to act.
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"Transportation, Reusable mugs, Sustainability; students are not feeling any of those currently" What information do you have to back this up? Is this a personal opinion? Every point you mention was not only part of the platform this years current elected members ran on- and were elected to, but we have done huge amounts of outreach and surveying to determine needs. If you are not currently effected by transportation, and are not seeing the need towards a more sustainable VT, it would be safe to say you are very well in a minority. That being said- SGA represents all students. While we strive to meet your needs and respond to your voice, there are also needs and desires of other student groups and organizations we actively work for.
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Don't worry if someone has a different (if uninformed) opinion on this initiative. Everyone's argument will stand or fall on its own merits. It's great that SGA is doing it - along with a few other things. Real question - Will the dining halls have any germ problems with dispensing beverages into cups that have already been used? Is this a health code issue?
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Actually, yeah it's totally against state health code.
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I think it's ironic that the CT is calling SGA a joke.
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Hey, let's be fair - it's not the ct - it's a columnist. In the opinions sections. Where random people get to express their opinions. You can too.
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seriously, as an active member of SGA, and a concerned student, i find it somewhat insulting that this is what this columnist feels of a group of students who work daily to make VT a better place. considering how much i know about this bill, i can tell that you definitely don't know the extent of proposed changes. and just to clarify, it is not another restriction to your freedom, it is just a plan to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by our campus. If i were you, i will get my facts right before attacking the SGA
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I agree! The SGA at Virginia Tech is made up of Relay For Life and the Big Event ... what else does SGA do exactly?
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The SGA does so much more than Relay and Big Event. You have no idea what we do. Want a 24/7 study facility? It's opening next year. Want to see your tuition and fees stay the same and not rise exponentially throughout your college career? That's why SGA sent a delegation to Richmond to lobby just for you to keep your costs low. Need more examples? Go to the SGA office some time.
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So the SGA is funding the 24/7 study facility? They are building it, maintaining it, and operating it? The SGA is the deciding factor in raising my tuition as well?
Let's be serious, the SGA has a voice in the way things are run at this school. That's all they have. They do not control building construction, zoning, tuition, or reusable plastic mugs. The SGA is a lobbying organization that "represents" the students. I used represent in the lightest of terms as I equate there elections to a popularity contest where whomever has the most friends or largest organizational backer i.e. Greek, wins the contest.
As for sending a delegation to Richmond. SGA is using school monies to go to Richmond to lobby for lower tuition. That's fantastic. What is that delegation going to do? Beg the state to give us more money during a budget crunch? Are they even going to be heard? Here's an idea, instead of using that money for travel to Richmond, use it to lower tuition. Yeah it may be only a couple of hundred dollars, but it will further your cause more than this trip. Hell, even taking an add out in the Post, Times, or Times-Dispatch with an open letter to state congress would be more effective than traveling to the capital.
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SGA has its own budget. The school does not fund them almost at all. They make money from Hokie Effect. So, it isn't the "schools" money...
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The SGA does a lot more than that.
For example look at the elections for SGA officers for the past two years. They are shrouded in controversy and it appears that the biggest thing that SGA officers do these days is find shady ways to seize office.
I was a member of the SGA House two years ago and I can tell you that it was the biggest waste of time. Nothing was ever really accomplished, nobody seemed to care or want to really accomplish anything.
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Maybe not everything the SGA has done for Virginia Tech has been perfect, but it is apparent that they have contributed to more good around the University than this article.
If the SGA is haltering your education so much, then find a new one. UVA is looking for more ignorant dbags.
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I agree. This year SGA has become much more transparent with a lot of effort to reach out. They do a lot more good than harm. Disagreeing with one of their initiatives is fine but discrediting the entire organization seems unfair.
I don't like the bottle idea either and its sad they are letting CSA try to get rid of the CT.
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Talk to dining services about the water bottle 'situation.' They are the ones making the FINAL decisions about the plastic bottles. The legislation in SGA is about possibly supporting their decision, but it wont ACTUALLY be the deciding factor.
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Wow! I was at VT for six years and not once did the CT have such an enlightening article. Where was this guy when I was in school? I remember going to a few SGA meetings and wondering why my student fees were funding such a worthless organization. Your analogy is spot on too! I think many years after college, people being to realize how stupid student government is. Chad is just way ahead of the game and for that should be awarded CT writer of the year. Glad to know some sane people still exist in college.
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