SGA presidential candidate Ben Simon, of the Love Party, said this semester’s Beat Duke Week bonfire, which was co-sponsored by several different groups, including the RHA and SGA, is an example of the kind of work the two organizations can accomplish together.
Executive candidates from both the SGA and RHA said the bodies’ overlap of authority, which has been a point of contention between the two organizations over the years, shouldn’t be seen as a negative, but rather should be used as a jumping-off point for stronger collaboration.
Student Government Association presidential candidates Ben Simon of the Love Party and Kaiyi Xie of the Action Party spoke at last night’s Residence Hall Association meeting, pledging to overcome past differences and work together on common issues both bodies deal with, such as safety, sustainability and transportation.
Their timing couldn’t have been better — the RHA appointed its newest executive members last night, both of whom pledged a similar commitment to increasing outreach to the SGA. The body elected public relations and outreach Officer Corie Stretton, who ran unopposed, to its highest position and Chief Information Officer Sasha Azar to be vice president.
“SGA and RHA are like sister organizations,” Simon said. “They should be working together all the time. Rather than SGA setting the agenda on these issues, they should work very cooperatively with RHA and not be so fearful of forfeiting a little trust to them.”
Simon said this semester’s Beat Duke Week bonfire, which was co-sponsored by several different groups, including both the RHA and SGA, is an example of the kind of work that should continue in the future.
“We almost ended up crowd-surfing with the police,” Simon said. “That’s breaking down barriers right there.”
Stretton said improving the sometimes tense relations between the two bodies can only benefit the entire campus community.
“I think this year we’ve made some strides in bringing the two together,” she said. “Two is better than one. If you can combine the two most powerful groups on the campus, you can accomplish anything.”
Xie, however, focused on how the bodies can be more accessible to students — an issue he said is prevalent in both organizations. He suggested putting a new tab on students’ MyUMD page with information about their legislators and requiring SGA representatives to meet with students outside of their office hours.
These actions, he said, would encourage students to become more involved and would ultimately dispel the sense of SGA’s “antagonistic relationship with other bodies.”
“A lot of our constituents, a lot of your constituents, don’t know who you are because there is no easy mechanism to find you,” Xie said.
Matthew Popkin, the Action Party’s candidate for senior vice president, agreed that opening a dialogue between the two groups — as well as students and administrators — will create an environment for progress.
“We need to create a storyline,” Popkin said. “We’ve started the preface and now we need to start chapter one.”
kirkwood at umdbk dot com
