Issue:

Students’ Association senators are acting more like trustees rather than delegates.

Stance: 

Students need to be more mindful of what Students’ Association is doing on campus. 

Each year students are tasked with voting for a senator to represent their voice on the South Dakota State University Students’ Association, the university’s student government. 

However, many students don’t know what SA is or what the organization does. SA senators should be voting based on the opinions of their constituents as a delegate should. But students are not reaching out to their senators, so then senators vote based on their own opinions rather than the opinions of who they represent.

We, at The Collegian, believe there are a few problems between SA senators and the students.

First off, many students don’t know where the the SA office is located. They have a fairly accessible location on the main floor of The Union. However, it can be intimidating to just walk in and talk to the senators. 

Another problem is that SA does not communicate as actively as they should with their constituents. For one, many students don’t know who their senators are or how to get in touch with them. However, they have improved by sending the weekly Rabbit Report and attempting to be more readily available. 

At the same time, the students themselves need to take the initiative to care about what their student government is doing, but many students don’t care or are too busy to pay attention. SA consistently has their meetings Monday at 7 p.m. in The Union that are open to the public for students to attend. Students who want to know what is happening at the meetings can read The Collegian’s weekly SA brief or follow The Collegian on Twitter (@colllegian_live).

Students have a way of accessing the information if they want to, but the problem is students don’t want to. Individuals who want to be informed about what is happening at SDSU can read the Rabbit Report or attend SA outreach initiatives. Students have the ability to contact their senators and actually make them represent the voice of their constituents. 

One outreach program SA started this semester is a Wednesday Morning Coffee session. Senators and students can meet with each other over coffee at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays to discuss issues affecting the campus. This program is in the early stages of development and senators hope to better the program as it continues.

If students want their opinions heard, they need to vote in the SA election on March 22 and 23. 

While SA has improvements of their own, students need to make a conscience effort as well. If students want their senators to be delegates rather than trustees, they need to be more aware of what their elected senators are doing.

The Collegian staff meets weekly and agrees on the issue of the editorial.

The editorial represents the opinion of The Collegian.