A University Senate committee decided this week that, rather than recommend officials here adopt a policy offering amnesty to students who call 911 for dangerously intoxicated students, students should be surveyed about alcohol poisoning.
Also this week, the Student Government Association, citing scheduling conflicts with the Duke basketball game being televised at Cole Field House the same night, delayed consideration of a resolution regarding the amnesty policy.
Such procedural dilly-dallying doesn’t always have a broad impact on the business of the SGA. But as the student-run legislature passes the school year’s halfway mark, an apparent willingness to put off decision making this year could affect the degree of influence the SGA wields as legislators face a formidable adversary: the clock.
“Depending on the piece of legislation, you should do it in a timely manner to allow the organization advocacy to be meaningful,” said former SGA Chief of Staff Devin Ellis.
But aside from missing an opportunity to weigh in on the amnesty
debate, the SGA also appears to be in a holding pattern when it comes to the Purple Line. Maryland Transit officials may even make recommendations to Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley this spring about whether the bi-county transitway should cut through the campus along Campus Drive ,despite the loud protests of administrators, without an official stance from undergraduates.
Presentations about the Purple Line haven’t wrapped up yet, and in interviews, both SGA executive board members and legislators have declined to map out a stance on the issue.
The sluggish movement doesn’t stop there. A decision on a procedural policy that would alter the organization’s balance of power and could affect student group funding was first introduced Nov. 11 and has yet to come to a vote.
SGA legislators insist they will reach decisions at some point this semester, but past SGA leaders say timing is everything. The SGA’s greatest power lies in its ability to influence policy, former SGA President Aaron Kraus said, so effective action often depends on striking while a controversy is hot.
“By itself, a resolution is not that significant. The most powerful thing about a resolution is the megaphone,” Kraus said. “If you wait a long time, the effect is diminished.”
SGA President Andrew Friedson downplayed the idea that the SGA is moving slower than usual, saying discussions about the amnesty, or Good Samaritan policy, aren’t time-sensitive. The issue has been on the agenda four times before, but is scheduled for a vote next week.
Speaker of the Legislature Nick Chamberlain said the organization is also dealing with a recent glut of bills, causing legislators to have to prioritize issues by their timeliness, and sometimes delay decisions.
“We had so many issues on the table,” Chamberlain said. “Everybody is doing the best we can do right now. We have to have good time management and do the things that are most important and time sensitive.”
Other bills, such as a resolution to support Resident Life’s proposal to limit leases at University Courtyards and South Campus Commons, have made it through while other controversies simmered. So it’s unclear why others have languished as debates elsewhere heated up.
Some SGA members may be losing patience with delays. At Wednesday’s meeting, one freshman legislator decried the SGA’s tabling of the procedural bill as debate on it has dragged on. In an interview, SGA legislator Matt Verghese called on the organization to speed up its operations.
“We could have done a better job making sure the process is faster,” SGA legislator Matt Verghese said. “We need to make sure we get better rather than worse.”
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