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SGA Pres., VP pursue new agenda

John Bohman '06 and Chris Ochoa '06 aim to continue to fight student apathy and represent students after a series of first semester accomplishments

by Ben Schrager

Students manned the dining halls with laptops at the start of this semester, trying to get out the vote for local SGA senators. More of the students living on-campus voted, 58 percent, than the 55 percent of the voting age population in the country that turned out for the last national election.

As students get ready to vote for the next SGA president and vice president today, some students are skeptical of student government.

Despite the critics, SGA is the only institutional way for students to access administrators, and the first semester of this administration made headway on addressing issues brought up by the student body. Last semester, SGA convinced college staff to allow students to return the Friday after breaks, preserved Grab & Go and helped to secure a buffer day at the start of finals week.

Gender-neutral housing, increasing student wages, and streamlining SGA are all on the agenda for this upcoming semester as SGA prepares to send off its senior class.

"Joint Board is gonna be smokin'," said Chris Ochoa '06, SGA vice president/president of Academic Affairs.

Ochoa is referring to what is basically SGA's senate. They meet weekly to vote on budget requests and coordinate their actions.

While faculty and the administration are fixtures at Grinnell, students are temporary. "They're entrenched," said SGA President John Bohaman '06 of administrative staff. "We have a changing of the guard every four years."

Bob Grey, Political Science, remembers when SGA was formed. "It was hoped by the idealistic and the naive that the students would have at least an equal voice if not a greater voice in the college decision making process," he said.

It can be unclear how decisions are made at the college. Different groups like the faculty, staff, administration, trustees and students are all trying to have a say in what gets done.

One of the biggest areas in which students have influence is committees. Historically, students have not always taken full advantage of the role of committees in the college's decision-making process.

Students have the majority on the Committee on Student Life and Dining Services Committee. There are nine committees listed in the student handbook. Students are selected by SGA to be on committees that are composed of students, faculty or administration.

Grinnell President Russell K. Osgood explained that he tries to incorporate student opinion along with the concerns of faculty and staff. "I think it is important to carefully consider recommendations by our formal bodies, like SGA and the Executive Council," he said of his consultation with the primary governing bodies for students and faculty respectively. "I also try to solicit opinions from a broad cross section of people including staff, other students, directly affected people, in the case of a specific decision, and others."

SGA can only speak for the students. "You can't do it alone is the real problem,' explained Bohman. "You need a school with you."

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