It’s time to declaw student gov. fat-cats

Eight members of your student government, and one lucky member of the student body at-large, will attend a conference this weekend at a Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida. Students are footing the bill.

The weather forecast looks pleasant; roughly 70-80 degrees the whole weekend. We sincerely hope that the delegates will remember us poor souls freezing in Nebraska while they blow $18,500 of your student activity fees.

But while the fat-cats are away, perhaps the mice should play.

Action is the quickest means to bring about political change, so let’s examine some of the actions outlined in the Chadron State College Student Association Constitution.

Article VII, Section 1 states;

“Any representative of the Student Association may be subject to removal from office. 

Any student may initiate removal by submitting a petition to the Chief Justice bearing the signatures of ten (10) percent of the current student enrollment.”

Based on the Fall 2013 student enrollment information, total enrollment was 3,056 students. About 306 students would need to sign a written petition to remove a lame-duck Senator from office.

Section 1 goes on to state;

“A Senator may initiate removal by submitting a petition to the Chief Justice bearing the signatures of five (5) Senators. The Court shall conduct a hearing at which time a defense shall be heard from the Senator. “

So what happens next? Section 3 states;

“Petitions must be considered and ruled upon within one (1) week following the hearing. Upon certification, the petition shall be submitted to the Senate. A two-thirds majority vote of its members shall be sufficient for removal from office.”

Let’s point out how ludicrous the laws governing our government are. Even if an extremely motivated student were to draft 15 petitions (one for each Senator), and garner the required 306 signatures for each petition, Senators could still defend their ineffectiveness to a court of their peers. They could then vote on whether they keep their offices or not.

The last Senate election results were released in Spring 2012; roughly 200 students voted. Given this demonstrated student apathy, it’s hard to imagine our hypothetical student acquiring the needed-306 signatures.

But another avenue is available that could declaw the fat-cats and force the student leadership to become fiscally responsible.

Students should petition and lobby for a constitutional amendment that prohibits the Senate from engaging in this sort of wasteful, self-aggrandizing spending.

Through action, we just might be able to put a stop to this Mickey-Mouse business, once and for all.