The Student Government Association here at Loyola continues to prove themselves as an organization that is fundamentally disconnected from the people that it serves. In last semester’s election, out of the thousands of full time students that attend Loyola, only 92 people voted in total – 83 voting for the current president – the only candidate and nine people abstaining.
When last year’s elections were taking place, only two emails were sent out. One was sent the day before the election, and the other was sent the day of. Combined with the fact that fewer than 100 people voted for our current SGA administration, the lack of transparency in our student government shines bright in a stark light.
The purpose of the student government is to be the student body’s representative on campus. Specifically, they are our representation to the Board of Trustees, the highest level of authority on campus. Student participation in student government elections is crucial to having our voices be heard by those who have the power to drive change. If our student government is not truly representative of the student body then we, as a student body, lack a voice in one of the places where we need it most. It is impossible for the student government to be truly representative of the student body when so few people participate in the voting process.
It is negligent on the part of the student government to not ensure that students are aware of elections when they happen and how students can participate.
The student body needs to have faith that their student government represents them. Article 2, Section 1, Clause 3 of the SGA Constitution states that their purpose is “to act as the principal representative voice of the student body to the Loyola University.” The SGA does not understand its own purpose as our representative.
It also proves that the student government needs to improve people’s understanding of what the student government is responsible for, especially in regards to funding.
Along with the primary responsibility of being the “principal representative voice” of the student body, in Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8 of the SGA Constitution, it is stated that one of SGA’s responsibilities is “to budget and allocate the revenue received from student fees for student services and organizations.”
This puts the student government in charge of hundreds of thousands of dollars. These funds come out of our tuition. In the fall of 2022, SGA was given $125,000 to allocate to students in the forms of events, clubs and club sports, grants, and travel funds. How this money is spent matters because it is ultimately our money. And, when less than 100 people decide who gets the checkbook, then we cannot be sure they would spend that money in our best interests.
The student government needs to do better and foster better elections and act as better representatives for our student body. Because of their negligence, they have failed to fulfill their responsibilities as “the principal representative voice.” The funding we as students receive for events and organizations should not be decided by a cabal of individuals led by someone chosen by less than 10% of us.
