Yet somehow this week's meeting never reaches the anticipated crescendo. For one thing, it's election time. In the next couple of weeks, students who trouble themselves to vote a number that rarely exceeds eight or ten percent of the student body, and at times hasn't reached the five percent required to legitimize the results will cast their ballots for the offices of SGA president and student trustee, who serve their one-year offices from spring to spring. As the meeting gets underway, candidates rise and recite the reasons they deserve support. Some of the candidates have come dressed for the occasion.
Some candidates read prepared speeches, others extemporize.
In a popular gambit that may be crystallizing into tradition, some complete their appeals by showering the assembly with candy. If big ideas for radical change are what you're looking for, Campus Center 163 on March 10 is not the place to find them. The candidates trot out campaign promises that, modified slightly for political race and place, could be used by any office-seekers anywhere. Except for one black woman and one Asian man, the candidates are all white and all male considerably less diverse than the group before them. Despite a lot of passion and a certain amount of flash, you can see why SGA has a reputation for creating a great deal of sound and fury signifying well, if not nothing, then nothing the average student knows or cares much about.