EDITORIAL: Unicameral system good first step in increasing SGA's efficacy
One thing is clear since Shelby Township senior Vincent Cavataio and Jackson junior Bryant English were elected Student Government Association president and vice president — moving to a unicameral assembly is a top priority, and it should be.
A unicameral legislature for SGA will be more efficient and increase the effectualness of the body itself. As one of the primary legs of Cavataio's and English's platform, they want to use a unicameral legislature to create a more attentive student body, which is extremely important. The duo said apathy among members inspired their desire to redesign SGA's structure.
The current system for the SGA legislature, a Senate and House of Representatives, is not working. It requires that every registered student organization attend weekly meetings to receive funding from the Student Budget Allocation Committee. This is not the way to increase participation amongst the RSOs, and Cavataio and English recognized this.
Holding SBAC funding over the heads of RSOs and mandating their participation is not the best way to get students involved in student government. All it does is create an entire governmental body — with those who might be uninterested — consisting primarily of members forced to attend.
Forced participation does nothing but put bodies in seats. It does not facilitate constructive discourse about campus issues, which is what needs to be happening at SGA meetings. It is not the quantity that matters, after all, but the quality of students dedicating their time to better represent the needs of the student body.
The new SGA administration said it will establish a transition committee to determine the best way to make the switch from a bicameral system to a unicameral system. Cavataio also said the committee will determine if the SGA is ready for the switch, and if it is not ready by the end of the fall semester, they will delay the process until it becomes viable to implement in full.
It is important that Cavataio and English go about this with care so the best decisions are made regarding the legislature. While the idea of a unicameral system is good in theory, they need to motivate people to participate because they will no longer have SBAC funding guaranteeing at least a few rows of warm bodies.
Cavataio and English spoke often about decreasing campus apathy regarding SGA, and they will need to work even harder to motivate students to get involved in the revamped SGA.
For SGA to be effective, it must have an engaged and enthusiastic legislature, and a unicameral system could be a significant step toward it.
