In the Feb. 19 issue, the Independent printed an article regarding turmoil within the SGA. Although there is still apparent turmoil, the SGA is now making moves in an effort to prevent a future disagreement of a similar kind.
At the SGA meeting on Feb. 26, there were several bills proposed. One of them was a bylaw called the Student Welfare Reform Act. Senators Mark Banks and Steven Jerome, along with Speaker Michael Cline, proposed the bill, among other reasons, to limit the Student Welfare Committee’s power within the SGA.
The bill states that the Student Welfare Committee must have a form filled out, a meeting with the Finance Committee and a meeting with all the senators in order to propose any event. This will be done to address any financial proposals made.
The bill reduces the number of people in the Welfare Committee from eight members to five. Banks and Jerome claim that this will help avoid lack of senate participation, because senate participation is mandated within the bill. They pointed out that the reduction in members is only temporary because committees are having trouble maintaining members right now, but this will change during the upcoming SGA elections and when new senators arrive.
Senator Adiecha Martinez, Chair of the Student Welfare Committee, questioned Banks and Jerome on why they would propose a bill that reduces the number of members in the committee when the SGA is about to increase its members.
Banks responded by pointing out his opinion that the quality of work in the Student Welfare Committee is less than in other committees. He said they must be practical and make the less-than-ideal accommodations in order to react to the reality of what is happening.
The SGA needs more man-power to make things happen, and Banks said this bill maximizes the Welfare Committee’s position within the SGA, even while reducing the number of members. He also pointed out that the Finance Committee needs more members because of the nature of the decisions it must make.
The debate over the bill was suspended when police Lieutenant Kruzynski entered the room to speak with the SGA about the recent NIU tragedy. After about 15 minutes and a few words, the debate resumed.
Senator Garcia disagreed with the reduction of the number of committee members, even though he agreed with the rest of the bill. Because the Welfare Committee is specifically geared toward student unity and connecting the SGA with the rest of the student body, he argued that a reduction in members might create an even greater rift between the SGA and the student body. He discussed how the senators should not reflect an elitist attitude like our government in the U.S., and says, “We’re students, we should be in the trenches.”
The bill was then amended back to eight members for the Student Welfare Committee instead of five. Further debate was postponed because the meeting ran overtime.