One of the advantages of participating in a democratic organization is just that: participating in democracy. Here at Stevens, that democracy is represented by the Student Government Association (SGA). The SGA has many responsibilities on campus as the main governing body for undergraduate students: creating student organizations, budgets for existing organizations, and event planning. However, without the support of the student body, the SGA does not have the power to change the rules of itself or the school. To get the approval of students, SGA makes amendments and puts them up for the vote of undergraduate students. Now, the SGA is asking undergraduate students to vote on their most recent amendment, one that re-organizes the makeup of the SGA and affects the roots of the organization.
The Stute was able to speak with Paulina Georgoutsos, the President of SGA, about the new amendment. Georgoutsos explained, “the amendments proposed are changing our structure from a class system to a ‘by-School system.’” The Senate will have one seat for every 75 students and the seats will be divided between a quantity of “by-School” seats and “at-Large” seats.” This means that instead of seats of the SGA senate being comprised of first-years, seniors, and so on, it will be separated by College of Arts and Letters, School of Business, etc. Each school, Georgoutsos continued, “will have one Senate seat for every one hundred students enrolled in the school. The number of senators will not change from our previous system but the classification of them will.” A smaller portion of the amendment will create a new position within SGA, President Pro- Tempore, a training position that prepares individuals to take a position of leadership in SGA in the future. These changes are as written in the amendment proposed to the SGA.
This change reorganizes the entire structure of SGA. Georgoutsos explained there were, “many flaws with our current class system […] many students stay for more or less than four years which makes it difficult to classify which year the senator would fit in. For instance, if we have a senator on co-op in their 4th year do we classify them as a junior or senior senator […] This ‘by-School’ system will also help the SGA reach our goal of more visibility on campus, as there will be an increase of communication between individual senators and the student body. We also will have the ability to tackle more issues that affect students that may not have had as equal of representation in their school with this old structure.” When asked about the President Pro-Tempore position, Georgoutsos explained, “The President Pro-Tempore position was proposed to allow for individuals to get a chance to shadow the cabinet and help the cabinet with daily tasks. This is for individuals who are interested in the cabinet and want to see the duties it entails. When I was running for VPO in the previous cabinet I wish this position existed to help introduce me to the tasks of cabinet and get a feel for the role that I would be soon entering.”
For this amendment to pass, 209 undergraduate students need to vote, which is 5% of the total undergraduate student body. The vote is scheduled to close on March 17. At that point, if 209 or more students have voted, then two-thirds of the votes cast (if 209 students votes, 141 students) need to be in support of the amendment for it to go into effect. If approved, the amendments would be written into the governing documents of the SGA and be a part of how the organization is run in the future.
As the vote is in progress, the SGA expects that students will have questions. Because of this, SGA members will be at a table outside of Pierce Dining Hall in the Howe Center for the weeks of February 27 and March 6, the last two weeks before spring break. There, Georgoutsos explained, SGA will be “encouraging students to vote and discussing the changes we are trying to make.” SGA hopes students will vote and be a part of how Stevens runs. For more information, Georgoutsos directs students to read the amendment.
