Editorial : Next SA session should implement suggested organizational changes
Photo/Mark Nash
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Elections for the next Student Association president and comptroller will begin next week. The elections will decide in which direction the university’s student government will go for the coming year and what issues facing students will take priority.
The Daily Orange Editorial Board offers its suggestions for improving the organization and its effectiveness. The suggestions include electing the vice president, reaching out more often to the general student body and updating the website.
Candidates and assembly members have raised all three of these issues. Some members have already started organizing updates to the website. The D.O. fully supports all three of these measures:
• Taylor Carr, one of the two presidential candidates, suggested redefining the roles of vice president and chief of staff to better distinguish their duties.
The job of the vice president has, in some ways, been consistently unclear in the past two sessions. Electing the vice president, either by the assembly or in the general elections on the same line as the presidential candidate, would foster healthy competition and ensure a dedicated student wins the spot.
• With many assembly members from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, SA should step up its public relations effort.
Last week, a mass email was sent out to the undergraduate student body about SA’s shuttle service to the local airport and bus station. SA should utilize this listserv to send out a regular newsletter, reminding students of upcoming programs, meetings, open forums and who to contact with issues. Though a weekly email may seem annoying to some, in general, campus would understand it is a public service and appreciate SA’s outreach.
• Finally, SA’s presence on Twitter and Facebook has increased in recent years, but more work needs to be done to update the website and promptly upload information addressed at meetings. The website is the most accessible way for students to learn more about the organization and those who represent their school.