SGA senators disrepectful, ‘out of hand’

Several members of the UTM Student Government Association got out of hand at the last Senate meeting on Tuesday, April 10.

With the SGA advisers absent from the meeting, several SGA members made extremely disrespectful remarks regarding Chancellor Rakes and the Athletics Department, which I find to be completely unprofessional.

The first rude comment came toward the beginning of the meeting when the Music Department made a presentation asking for a potential music fee. During the presentation, one of the SGA members referred to the presentation that the Athletics Department made earlier this semester regarding the $40 Athletics Fee and said, “The Athletics presentation- Now that was sleazy.”

I must admit – the presentation by the Music Department was outstanding. It appeared that there was far more research done as far as the impact of the campus and community are concerned, but a public SGA meeting is not the place for that remark, especially when that remark came from a student who is supposed to be representing our university.

After the presentation, they moved onto new business where the disrespect continued. Many of the rude remarks came during the debating of the Green Fee Legislation and the Travel Fee Legislation.

“Chancellor Rakes can suck it,” was one of the many disrespectful remarks made during the meeting. Even with that remark, there was no effort made by the Executive Council to keep the meeting under control.

I went into that particular SGA meeting as a student who planned on debating and discussing the Travel Study Legislation, so I did. Most of my comments dealt with answering questions regarding the Travel Study Legislation, since I have been supporting the idea for almost three years now.

I did make a few opinionated statements during the meeting, but most of them were informational regarding the history of the legislation, and the processes that it has been through.

Well, it was brought to my attention later that several SGA members didn’t think I should have been allowed to speak because I was a writer for The Pacer. I’m sorry. I’m pretty sure that I have a First Amendment right to the freedom of speech.

When the SGA Administration allows the senators to make disrespectful comments about our departments and administrators, then how can they affectively represent us? Exactly how willing will the departments and administration be to help the student body, when our student representatives can’t even show a little respect toward them?

At first, I was upset about the actions, or rather the lack of action, on the legislations regarding the Green Fee and Travel Study Fee. Then, I realized that what I was really upset about was the lack of respect that many SGA members exhibited that night.

As a student on this campus, I’ve taken a great pride in our university. For a moment, I felt as though that pride had been stripped away after hearing all of the negative remarks from those students who are supposed to be representing us, and seeing the SGA leadership stand aside and let it happen.

If that meeting was a sign of what is to come next year, then where does that leave the student body? Will anything worth doing be done?

To the newly elected SGA members, I say this: think about where you want SGA to be this time next year.

If you are there solely to pad your resume and you really don’t care about helping the student body, then keep making disrespectful remarks at your own digression. I’m sure quite a few of you will end up dropping out from SGA anyway.

For those of you who did run to make a real difference on our campus, then hold yourselves and your fellow SGA members accountable for your actions. You are there to represent every student on this campus, and I hope that you will be successful in doing so.

Either way, we aren’t going to move UTM into a thriving future if we can’t show a little respect toward the groups of people who have helped make UTM what it is today – a successful university.