Student Government is holding a “What Do You Want Wednesday” this week. I really regret that I can’t attend as I’m sure whatever problems I’d like to see solved here at George Mason University — lower tuition, lower parking fees, less wasteful spending, traffic lights at the overcrowded intersections — would certainly be tended to immediately and efficiently. It’s comforting to see that when students say they want to see a reduction in penalties for drug possession, SG understands this to be code for “We want plastic bag taxes, $9,000 worth of Gold Rush T-shirts and then Donald Garrett, the guy who privately raised half the funds to buy these shirts, to be impeached and then kicked off of the presidential ballot.” But, hey, at least they give you a cookie.
Since I’ll be gone on “What Do You Want Wednesday,” I decided to conduct my own version by asking some students here at Mason what they would like to see done on campus and include the list in Broadside.
Not only are some of the students I asked currently campaigning to make SG better, more useful and less wasteful, but some of the students I asked are in SG now. Here’s what they’d like: lower parking fees, universal parking permits, fairer drug policies, cheaper tuition, more responsibility from the organization’s administration, lengthened withdrawal periods, reduced budget and more efficiency. The students I asked, to the man, said they would rather see $9,000 spent on “anything other than what it was spent on.”
I’d like to meet the student who told SG he wanted $9,000 worth of Gold Rush T-shirts. I’d like your budget cut by, say, $9,000 (worth of T-shirts) and published on your website. I’d like the people whom I email to ask for information, which they’re required and paid to give me, respond with the information before I am accused of having not asked for it. I’d like to see more honesty on the issues. Oh, and I want to see Mike and Donald back on the ballot.
I know there are people currently in SG or who have been in SG who work hard to represent students. I also know that a lot of them don’t. If you aren’t doing anything, where do you get your legitimacy? With regard to my last article, I’ve already heard some members of SG, many of whom I am friends with, call me misinformed; I call those people wrong. In fact, I think it’s the general public that is misinformed about what you’re doing for our campus. Not misinformed by their choice but misinformed because you hide your budgets (my email was never returned) and you impeach and remove from candidacy the most capable senators on the basis of private feuds.
As my email requesting the public expenditures was not returned, I sought the information elsewhere. A member of SG who did not have the information I requested referred me to someone who logically should — the chairman of finance. When I emailed the chairman of finance and asked for SG’s expenditures for the past year, he said he didn’t have the authority to release that information. In fact, that information is public under the Freedom of Information Act as SG is a body supported by taxpayer money. More likely, he didn’t have the information. You can see why I’m frustrated that people accuse me of not taking the initiative to ask SG what they do, yet the SG adviser has not responded to my emails and the committees do not keep records of public information readily available to give those who ask to see it.
If even one of these requests, which came directly from students, is met, I’ll be shocked. SG, we know what we want. You know what we’ve asked you to do because it always consists of the same requests. Your legitimacy comes from your claim to be able to make the changes we’ve persistently asked for. Otherwise I might be inclined to believe that rather than being inefficient and ineffective, you’re incapable. When are you going to do anything people request to see done at “What Do You Want Wednesdays?” Seriously, do people actually ask for those damn shirts?
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