Colby Represent

On SGA Elections

pmboland@colby.edu (Patrick Boland) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:09:33 GMT

I and a number of other people on SGA have been trying to wrap our brain around the current elections for about four days now. What is happening? We have more uncontested elections and nonexistent elections than even!

-An uncontested President/Vice President list, unprecedented in my knowledge of SGA.
-The Treasurer's race which has 5 candidates.
-3 contested dorm president elections - Taylor, Dana and AMS.
-We have 13 uncontested dorm president elections.
-ONE contest Class President election - the class of 2012.
-9 dorms with no elections

Let's just compare that to last year for reference.

-4 tickets for President/Vice President
-2 candidates for Treasurer
-2 contested Class Representative Elections (for classes of 2009 and 2011)
-6 Dorms with no elections
-5 Contested Dorm Elections
-7 Uncontested Dorm Elections (unless you count joke write-ins)
-6 Dorm Elections decided by joke write-ins

Let's read into that - this means that there were 19 dorms with no real contest, no real chance to choose between one candidate for dorm president or not. There were contests for both top tickets (President/VP and Treasurer), and there were real contests for 6 dorms.

I have said this before, and I will say it again. The problem is getting worse, not better. Yes, there are a lot of great candidates for dorm president that are now running uncontested, and SGA will be better for having them next year, but at what cost? We have an elected body of about 36 people, and next year, guess how many will have had to face a real election - that's right, 6 people (Treasurer, Class of 2012 Presidents, AMS, Dana and Taylor Dorm Presidents). That's 17%. The rest were either appointed or won in an uncontested election. For comparison, last year it was 12 people (President/Vice President, Treasurer, 2009 and 2011 Class Representatives and 5 dorm presidents), which is 33%.

There is a problem, and I can't figure out why it is happening.

Maybe it is that we have too many representatives and that the entire idea of dorm presidents needs to be swapped for something along the lines of Senators by class. But the problem with that is that we can't even get people to run for Class Representative. Maybe the Classes of 2010 and 2011 are especially apathetic. Maybe people don't want to run because they don't want to go abroad. Maybe people think SGA is a joke (and sometimes, who can blame them?). Maybe people have better things to do. Maybe people, as that Improv video suggested, just want to make out or cuddle.

There has to be an elected SGA, it is essential to its operation.

Best,
Patrick Boland
SGA President

What We've Done So Far

pmboland@colby.edu (Patrick Boland) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:06:33 GMT

This semester, SGA has done a lot. We got to campus excited to get to work, and work we did. Here is a list of everything that we have done this semester, and some ideas that we are going to tackle second semester!

    * Started Zipcar Program
    * New York Times Readership Program
          o Increased total New York Times
          o JanPlan Readership Program
    * Continued Wall Street Journal Readership Program
    * Created Housing and Facilities Advisory Committee
    * Created Club-Hub mailing list
    * Sponsored two blood drives
    * Created Airport Shuttle for Thanksgiving and Winter Break
    * Created off-campus resources list
    * Created an information packet for potential clubs
    * Worked with PPD to create pesticide log book
    * Proposed student leader diversity training
    * Created $500 reimbursement fund for registered parties
    * Recommended dorm damage be applied to whole school
    * Got cigarette deposit between East and West Quad
    * Floor lights on Pulver Bridge

SGA Reform

    * Proposed new constitution to student body
    * Moved meetings back to campus
    * Elected FY Class Representatives
    * Created SGA Publicity Team
    * Initiated SGA Evaluations for Dorm Presidents and Class Representatives

Next semester, we are looking to do a lot more, including work on reforming the housing lottery system, reinvigorating communication between student leaders at Colby, holding a constitutional referendum for the students, and a WINTER CARNIVAL!

It is going to be great, and it was such an exciting semester!

It is going to be great, and it was such an exciting semester!

SGA This Semester

pmboland@colby.edu (Patrick Boland) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:15:42 GMT

Hi, my name is Patrick Boland and I am currently SGA President. We are trying to reach out to the campus and students in new ways that haven't been tried before, and we decided to get a blog. We couldn't be happier. You will see members of the Executive Board and members of the Presidents' Council post on this blog in the months to come, highlighting their accomplisments or conversations on campus.

This group of SGA members is the best that I have seen in my three years. They are enthusiastic, dedicated and involved on campus beyond SGA (many are members of multiple clubs or are on sports teams). I am impressed with this group, and am excited to see what they come up with throughout the year.

Housing and Facilities Advisory Committee: This year during orientation, several dorm presidents and class representatives came up with the idea to have a committee that would allow for direct student input in student housing and facilities use, and would also interact directly with Campus Life. We passed the motion, written by Julie Achenbaum and Michelle Graff (2010 representatives), and we just appointed the members. This committee will be a great tool for students for years to come, allowing a diverse group of students from every class year and different groups on campus to have a serious and meaningful impact on housing.

New York Times Readership Program: This year, we switched from the USA Today Readership Program to the New York Times' program. We did this for several reasons, most importantly getting more Times and being able to continue the Wall Street Journal program, which we are the only school to have. We have been excited about the positive feedback we have so far received.

SGA Reform: For me, the most important part of my job is to make sure that SGA is a respected and recognized organization on campus. To that extent, I worked with a group to put together a new Constitution for SGA that will be presented at the next SGA meeting, and which we hope to put to the student body for a vote second semester. In addition, we elected first-year representatives for the first time ever-this is a huge deal because it gives that class ownership over SGA that they have never had before, and much more influence. Finally, we have created a publicity team from within SGA to publicize events and programs so that the student body is informed of what we are doing.

Pesticide Use on Campus: In October, 2011 Class Representative Harry Davis proposed a motion that would require PPD to disclose pesticide use on campus for the past two years and keep a detailed log going forward. After the motion passed unanimously, we began talks with PPD to create a log of all pesticide use, pesticide use considerations and detailed turf data moving forward so that students and professors can have access for study.

Keep a lookout for more SGA initiatives this semester and next, as we are always working on new and exciting things. We are currently working with many organizations and groups on campus to make sure that we restart a Winter Carnival. We are working to propose some important changes to housing and alcohol. We are working to increase collaboration between student leaders on campus.

And we want your feedback. We always want your feedback and your ideas; they make us your voice. If you want to, send a suggestion or feedback to sga@colby.edu, or just talk to your dorm president or class representative.