Thursday, September 25, 2008

A new revolution is needed

By James Beaulieu
Special to the Critic


Thomas Jefferson once said, “A little revolution every now and then is a good thing,” and when I look out over this campus I see that we need one. The government that is in place to help the students here, SGA, is not helping us the regular student at all. That when there is a student issue that needs to be addressed the SGA is unavailable to help us. That with there commitment to the club and the groups here on campus, and the common student gets over looked.
The thing is that the SGA is unavailable to the common student. They have there meetings with the club and students reps and no one really knows who they are. So how can we as a school community communicate with our government which has “us” in there mind.
Well it seems the only way I can think of is by doing this. Evoking my first amendment right and write about it. There are other ways we can get our message to the SGA. We need to stand up as a school and ask for change. The Declaration of Independence says “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”
This means if we don’t like the way the SGA is being run then we need to get rid of and institute one that has a better connection to its students. The answer isn’t give it more power but to give it a new order and purpose, to make it what it should be. This is a student government; so let the students run it and have more say in it then the administration.
I know it is not all the SGAs’ fault; a lot of it falls on the students themselves. I hear people complaining about current polices here on campus. Well, if you don’t like them, or want change, you need to be open and express those feelings to the SGA. The way to change things is to stand up for what you believe in and not just to bow down and take it. If you don’t like what’s going on its your right as students and Americans to stand up and try to make a difference.
So maybe this could be a call for reform and revolution. Take it as you will. But I see that the SGA needs to be abolished and remade into the image of what the students need. One where the students have more voice and where CAB is no longer the focus of the SGA. With CAB out of the picture then we can have real issues that matter to the student body and not to one group or another. The meetings should be in a town hall style where the common student can come and express there thoughts, ideas, and grievances to the SGA without hesitation and fear of being turned away.
If you see what I see, and feel what I feel, then you need to speak up. That’s the message here. Speak up. If we speak up then change can happen and that’s what this school needs. I can no longer stand by and watch this student body lose its voice in the school. I am willing to stand up and fight for change here and now, the real question is which one of you will be willing to stand next to me and fight?

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