Engaging in SGA
The Johns Hopkins News-Letter · April 14, 2011
Student Government Association (SGA) elections occurred last week, and in the wake of the election’s 35 percent voter turnout, this page has been considering the role of SGA at Hopkins.
Some students on campus scoff at SGA, believing that the association is powerless, but quite the opposite is true. The SGA is responsible for numerous functions on campus including, but not limited to, advocating for students in regards to academic concerns, providing outlets and resources for support projects, suggesting classes, publicizing course evaluations and, most importantly, deciding what student initiatives and groups deserve funding.
This last point should not be taken lightly as it directly affects every Hopkins student. From Spring Fair, to the Foreign Affairs Symposium, to the MSE Speaker Symposium, the one commonality is the SGA’s lynchpin status. Thus, the 35 percent turnout for this year’s election is highly regrettable.
What is even more alarming, though, is that this modest percent is being hailed across campus as the highest voter turnout in years. A major reason that so many people believe the SGA to be an impotent organization is that no one gives it the thought it deserves. This apathetic outlook has serious adverse consequences for the 65 percent of the student body that chose (whether knowingly or not) to abstain from voting.
The only way the SGA will obtain serious respect from the student body is through a grassroots effort in which students actively support the endeavors of the SGA. Only then will the group be hailed as a legitimate representation of the undergraduate body and its concerns.
This is because, as it stands now, the SGA really only represents the interests of a majority within the 35 percent of undergraduates who voted. The majority of the student body on campus has become engaged in a vicious cycle in which student government has little support and feedback, because it is perceived to be ineffectual, and therefore is not able to represent students adequately.
Students must reengage in campus politics to ensure that the SGA is representative of the entire student body and not just the select few who vote. While the 35 percent voter turnout represents an upward trend, Hopkins cannot be satisfied with such an election.