The Student Government Association is now accepting applications for next academic year. Our article touches on the positions of president and vice president, but any student that meets the requirements listed in the article can apply for any position.
Complaints that no events happen on campus or that things need to be changed are easy to make when you don’t get involved. Voter turnout for last year’s SGA elections was less than 0.5 percent.
Just think about that. Less than one percent of our university’s student body voted for SGA positions last spring. Yes, the presidential race was uncontested, but 0.5 percent is unacceptable.
Get out there and participate. The worst that can happen is you don’t win. Maybe you’ll find that SGA is something you enjoy, and maybe you can help put an end to those complaints that we all hear. Maybe you’ll be the one to bring in a new voice or a new set of ideas. Change, especially when it comes to viewpoints, is rarely a bad thing.
And if you don’t feel like running for president or vice president or whatever positions are open, please just vote. Don’t be the person that complains but is silent when the time comes to do something about it.
SGA exists to help the entire student body of Youngstown State University, but they can only help the problems they know about. And when an absolutely miniscule segment of the population even bothers getting involved, then of course there will be complaints.
Now is the time to help quiet those complaints, or at least reduce the number of them. We write about this every year and it seems to have a minimal impact, if any. And just like every other time, when we’ve urged students to get involved in SGA, we are serious.
Get out there and run for a position. If that doesn’t suit you, get out there and vote. And if that doesn’t suit you, then at least get involved and help SGA understand what you feel they could do to make your student experience better.