Amendments aren't the problem

Brian Wallheimer
Editor in Chief

Changing things does not always make them better.

Student Body President Phil Gersman is proposing two amendments to the student government constitution.

The first would eliminate the personnel board and replace the personnel chair with a "chief of staff." Such a person is a staff member designated to be the leader of the group. I don't think the student government chief of staff will be in charge of the senators or executive board. The title doesn't seem to fit. I wonder how thoroughly President Gersman considered the title and the job.

The proposed chief of staff would assume the responsibilities of the personnel board. Also, the chief would recommend candidates for open senate seats, a job now reserved for the president.

Because of the extra duty, the amendment says, the chief of staff would be allowed to work 15 hours instead of 10 per week. Five senators were replaced during this academic year. Since there are approximately 30 weeks during the fall and spring semesters, the chief of staff would work 150 hours more than the personnel chair currently does. That translates to around $750 per year. I don't see how a person would need to work another 150 hours and get paid $750 to recommend a few people to fill senate seats.

President Gersman might argue that the chief of staff would shoulder all the responsibilities of the entire personnel board. However, while the chief would have the duties, he or she won't be burdened by meetings. No, Gersman's proposal would eliminate the formality of meetings and allow the chief to make decisions in a more timely manner. It seems the amendment would cut down on work time rather than increase it.

So much for a personnel board made up of a committee of students. The chief of staff will not work with a board. In other words, one person is getting the power that was divided up between several people.

This takes students out of the mix and gives the president more power since the president would appoint the chief of staff. President Gersman said he wants the president to have less power over the decisions of who is appointed, but this amendment would actually increase the president's control. The student government constitution is set up to give power to groups instead of one person. It is a system of checks and balances that President Gersman is trying to get rid of.

The second amendment would restructure the public relations board.

The amendment would change the public relations chair title to "director of public relations." President Gersman said the director "should focus solely on keeping the student body informed on issues, agenda items and policy changes throughout the university."

President Gersman has said he wants to do away with "Meet the Senate Night" and "Meet the Senate Week." That seems ironic. I thought the "Meet the Senate" outings were public relations at its best. If President Gersman wants to get information to students, why is he eliminating an opportunity to speak with students face to face?

President Gersman said, "If students on campus want to meet their elected officials, they can come to senate meetings or stop in the student senate office." It doesn't sound as if the president cares about students having a chance to get information.

Maybe more students should go to the office. I have gone down there several times and not found a single member of student government. Granted, they are students and they have classes and other obligations, but President Gersman makes it sound as though senators line up to hear what students have to say when they go to the office. The truth is, there aren't always senators in the office and taking away "Meet the Senate" events eliminates an easy line of communication.

We had only 807 of more than 12,000 students vote in the student government election last month. Taking away "Meet the Senate" events will only make matters worse. Fewer students will have the opportunity to be informed and the apathy on this campus will grow.

These amendments will only hurt the system. They will take power from groups and give it to one person, add approximately $750 to student government payroll and weaken the lines of communication between the senate and the students.

Change doesn't always help. Student governments worked for years under the constitution without a need for such changes. Maybe the problem isn't with the constitution but with the people in the public relations and personnel committees.

People make the system work. If the people are ineffective, the system fails. That is the root of the problem. If people in student government aren't doing their jobs, new amendments won't solve the problems.