Staff Editorial

Riled Senate needs to recalibrate

Student Government Association’s members can’t properly represent their constituents if they are unable to conduct themselves with decorum. Candidates have touted student leadership and have pressed for further student involvement, but the Senate’s incumbent and prospective student delegates were unable to control themselves from improper outbursts.

The SGA election trial Monday night was the pinnacle of its disparate image: an organization that waves the banner of student service while effectively ignoring them. The bottom line of the entire election process — campaigning, filing complaints, voting — should be to serve students. When officials disrespect, bicker and intentionally discredit each other, not only do they trample on the fledgling image of SGA, but students, too, are at a loss.

Those involved with SGA are expected to be the collective voice of all Cougars on campus, cooperating with administrators, faculty and staff across this vast expanse we call our University. Coupled with our growing national acclaim and push for Tier One in all areas, the time for effective student collaboration has never been more urgent.

But rather than focus on the bigger picture, SGA has been riddled with petty disputes that have derailed the organization from its mission of “empowering” students, especially during this time of rapid change. When members are at war with each other, students are the ones left in the rubble.

6 Comments

  • There is but one individual who did all this at the trial on Monday, and his name is Kendrick Aldrige, Elections Commissioner. For these outbursts and many other reasons, he is up for impeachment tonight by the Senate. He is an embarrassment to his office and his appointment was easily the 50th Administration’s worst mistake.

    • Do not pin all of the blame on him. Frankly, the entire REDvolution party is full of petty individuals who have shown that they are nothing if not disrespectful and pretentious. I have no doubt that REDvolution will unfortunately win the election, and continue to make SGA a completely useless club full of people who simply want another “activity” to put on their otherwise vacant resume.

      • How you just described the REDvolution party would be offensive if it wasn’t so severely inaccurate. As someone who has followed SGA for three elections and ran in two, I can say this ticket has been by far the most qualified of all I’ve seen. I’ve seen other parties with a lot of fairly inactive or new people, but every single candidate on Redvolution has held at least one major leadership role, ranging from RA’s to workshop facilitators to organization presidents. And even if the claim was correct, it’s totally irrelevant to the content of the article or the above comment. Clearly someone running against Redvolution put this in as a baseless attack.

    • NO, YOU ARE MR. DANIEL SCHMIDT KENDRICK WAS DOING HIS JOB; IT’S EASY TO SEE YOU WERE FOR RED…HE DID A DAMN GOOD JOB…KENDRICK WALK WITH YOUR HEAD UP…IT’S EASY TO SEE SOME OF THE STUDENTS DON’T LIKE TO TRUE TO BE TOLD ESPECIALY WHEN IT’S COMING FROM A BLACK MAN…..GO KENDRICK ALRIDGE

      • Race has nothing to do with this issue. A person is wrong if they’re wrong regardless of their skin color.
        The redvolution party is filled with individuals who truly care to make a difference at the university of Houston. I admire their efforts to campaign despite the numerous unwarranted attacks that have been directed toward them over the past few weeks. The election commission is a group of biased and power hungry individuals who have done a disservice to the student body. The SGA must take steps to ensure that future elections run smoothly and I have full confidence that they will do just that.

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