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Wednesday, Novbmbeb 17, aoio | The Rkd a Black
DmM IfcaiHtt | Editor in Chief editor® randb.com
Cany | Managing Editor me@randb.com
Cnrtn> Holbrook | Opinions Editor opinions@randb.com
SGA legislation
not for students
I thought SQA stood for
Student Government
Association.
Allegedly, SGA is com
prised of elected students
serving to represent the
interests of the student
body.
This semester, I’ve yet
to see a shred of evidence
proving that to be true.
Every day I pick up The
Red & Black and read
about some new outland
ish legislation SGA is try
ing to propose.
Smoking good luck.
Israel vs. Palestine
are they not allowed to
tailgate on North Campus
either?
Most of the time, I’m
not even aware there is a
major student concern
over these issues.
Probably because there
isn’t.
Apparently, these stu
dent government mem
bers think they are as
effective as the United
Nations when it comes to
international policy, and
know better than the Pood
and Drug Administration
regarding cigarette expo
sure.
These fringe interest
ideas have little to do with
my daily life at the
University or the lives of
my fellow students and
much to do with specific
interests of the few.
Coincidentally, those
few happen to be SGA
members.
And they wonder why
so few voted on their pro
posed cigarette ban and
why such a limited num
ber of students voted
them into office in the first
place.
When the response
from SGA to an actual
campus issue such as the
overcrowding of buses is
“walk to class instead”
you have your answer. An
Mailbox
E-mail and letters from our readers
Israel plan divides readers
The Athens for Justice
in Palestine organization
is right in fighting against
the Israeli resolution, but
they are wrong in their
reasons (“Israel proposal
unfair to Palestine,” Nov.
16).
The point that they
should be basing their
fight off of is that the
Student Government
Association clearly has
better things to do. But
instead the AJP is saying
that the resolution would
“hinder free speech” and
“intimidate students.”
In no way would the
passage of this resolution
hinder free speech.
If the resolution passed,
the AJP would still be free
to plaster up signs, have
protests in the middle of
Tate Plaza and do any
thing that they were able
to do prior to the intro
duction of the resolution.
And it would not
“intimidate students” who
disagree with Israel any
more than a smoking ban
would “intimidate" smok
ers. They are incorrect in
their assertion that it
would impact their group
financially, too.
The Small Clubs
Allocations Committee is
responsible for distribut
ing funds to groups, and
the five members who vote
to decide to distribute
fiinds will have their own
opinions about the Israeli
conflict regardless of the
passage of the resolution.
If four of the members
of the Small Clubs
Allocations Committee
havf bias against the
AJWMien they will not get
funding even If the resolu
tion falls. If four out of five
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J Megan
Thornton
authentic problem, not a
lot of effort to solve it.
The editorial board yes
terday already enumerat
ed several far more impor
tant and fairly obvious
student concerns they
shouldn’t even have had
to list out.
Buzzwords such as
“budget cuts” and “17
rapes reported since June"
would make anyone
assume SGA has a built-in
agenda for future legisla
tion. But they seem to
keep diverting from what
the rest of us actually care
about in order to tailor
their r6sum£s.
Perhaps major issues
such as campus transit
would take more time and
effort to fight for, but isn’t
that the point?
President Adams hasn’t
exactly figured out what
to do about the lack of
state funding, but that
doesn’t mean he's going to
start a campaign against
UGG boots.
If any SGA member
decides to champion a
cause that has anything
remotely to do with unit
ing rather than polarizing
the student body, I will lis
ten with an open mind.
But with a track record
of such divisive proposals,
all I see for SGA’s future is
a continuing pattern of
self-importance —and an
ignorance of campus con
cerns.
Megan Thornton is a
senior from Marietta
majoring in newspapers
and is on the
editorial board for
The Red & Black
members of the group
have a bias in favor of the
AJP they will allot funds
even if the resolution pass
es.
THOMAS SHATTO
Senior, Peachtree City
Chemistry
With all the controver
sial issues that come up
today, too many people
stoop to the level of name
calling and personal
attacks. I will stay away
from this and just stick to
the facts.
First, as Stephen
Thompson, the vice presi
dent of the Student
Government Association,
stated, “a resolution is a
declaration meant to rep
resent all University stu
dents.” How could a reso
lution supporting Israel
represent the views of stu
dents that are pro-Pales
tine?
Second, according to
the Economist Intelligence
Unit’s Democracy Index,
Israel is not even classified
as a “full democracy," but
rather as a “flawed democ
racy” with the same civil
liberties score as Rwanda.
Is this the example we
want to hold up?
Finally, it is not the pur -
pose of SGA to take on
international issues. SGA’s
purpose is to “serve as a
liaison between students,
administrators, and orga
nized governing bodies of
the University.” These are
the facts.
ELIZABETH SHELDON
Port Orchard, Wash.
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Opinions
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Senators’ mission to help campus
It’s easy to sweep controversial
Issues under a rug, and it’s even
easier to shove the blame to
someone else.
However, it’s usually the wrong
thing to do. In the Student
Government Association, we know
issues as controversial as the pro
posed “Israel Resolution” are not
things that magically appear or dis
appear.
Likewise, we know “he said/she
said" is nothing the readership of
The Red & Black and the 35,000
students on this campus deserve.
Some of you are angry, confused
and hurt that a resolution was pro
posed advocating a “Pro-Israel”
stance.
This paper is asking “why?”
First, let’s make this clear: we
did not vote Tuesday evening on a
resolution in regards to a Pro-Israel
stance.
The proposed resolution was
pulled last Friday and was not
placed on our agenda.
We will not discuss this resolu
tion any further.
During the course of this semes
ter; BGA senators were approached
by University students to propose
the resolution in question.
To be clear, any student can
write an SGA resolution, but it
requires at least one SGA senator
to sponsor it.
i Love your body no matter weight or hair
Dark hair, small
breasts, a wide
nose, and wide
hips: my body certainly
doesn’t meet the blonde
bombshell standard of
beauty.
But you will never hear
me say I would change
the way I look.
We all have parts of our
bodies that we despise,
and none of us will ever
be completely satisfied
with our appearances.
Trust me. I’ve been
there.
During my sophomore
year I had the horrible
realization that I’d gained
almost 30 pounds since
high school. I was in a
constant state of denial.
I remember putting on
a pair of jeans and think
ing, “That’s strange my
jeans shrank.”
But my jeans hadn’t
gotten any smaller it
was me who was getting
bigger.
I was unhappy with
the way I looked, and I
lost a lot of my self-confi
dence.
Then the negative
thoughts started to slow
ly seep in.
You ire ugly. You are
fat. You are invisible.
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Villarreal
I was always beating
myself up about it, so I
knew I needed a change.
I changed my eating
habits, and lost 35
pounds in a Uttle over a
year.
But my journey did not
end there.
I thought losing the
weight would suddenly
make me happier and
more confident.
WeU, it didn’t.
Those negative
thoughts and emotions
about my body were still
there even though my old
body was gone. A change
on the inside was what I
needed.
We often think chang
ing this one thing about
our appearances will
make everything else fall
in to place.
If I lose weight, 111
meet the right guy.
Or if I get my nose
fixed, 111 get that acting
Job.
. But it doesn’t always
Our Staff
(tit
Hampton
In this case, two of our senators
made the decision to sponsor this
resolution.
However, after discussions with
student groups supporting both
sides of the issue, the sponsoring
senators decided not to pursue this
resolution.
At our core, SGA is a student
led organization whose sole mission
is to serve the needs of our peers.
We received numerous e-mails
from students who were in support
of this resolution, but an even
greater number from students who
were not.
It was determined that it is not
SGA’s role to pursue an issue that
would potentially divide campus.
Every student on this campus
has at least one senator responsi
ble for responding to his or her
concerns.
As an organization, we exist to
respond to the student voice. So, if
a student approaches a senator
with an idea, question or concern,
that senator should and will
explore the issue.
We support our senators’ actions
work that way.
We need to leam to
accept our bodies for how
they are because they are
always changing.
And they will continue
to change after we lose
weight or undergo plastic
surgery.
Just ask anyone who’s
had a face-lift. The fix
isn’t permanent and even
tually has to be redone.
In 2009 women had
more than nine million
cosmetic procedures,
according to the
American Society for
Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
This is a strong indicator
to me that too many
women feel the need to
have an immediate fix to
their appearance.
Many of us knew girls
in high school who would
disappear for a little while
and come back with a
new nose, or some other
minor adjustment to their
appearance. And I’m sure
that girl swelled with con
fidence over the next few
months.
But I bet if you check
up on her now she will
have some other com
plaint, about some other
part of her body.
Changing your appear-
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Phone (706) 433-3002 | Fkx (706) 438-3033
oplnions@randb.com j www.redandblack.oom
540 Baxter Street, Athens, Ga. 30605
in advocating for the students’ pro
posed resolution, but we now real
ize the negative effect it could have
on the students we serve.
This is why we decided not to
pursue the issue fiirther.
However, there was a lack of
communication with our campus
media outlets.
We dropped the ball and we take
fUll responsibility for this.
The Red St Black was not wrong
to run this story based upon the
information they had.
The editorial asking “why” was
not unwarranted.
We should always be able to
defend our actions. However, it is
unfortunate the proper Information
was not available to ensure an
accurate story.
Again, we take responsibility for
this.
We want to make certain you
know we hear you.
This situation has given us a
renewed sense of what matters to
you and it is our vow to continue to
work on those issues.
We encourage you to come to us
with your questions, concerns and
ideas so that we can be an advo
cate for you.
Addie Hampton is the
Director of Communications for the
Student Government Association
ance will not make you
happy.
And it is possible to
love your body without
making any changes.
First off, stop compar
ing yourself to other
women. Your body is all
that matters.
Second, don’t let what
you see on television or in
magazines get in to your
head. Most of these
women have been air
brushed or the images
have been altered to
make them look that per
fect.
Last —and I know
how hard it is you must
try and love yourself.
Be proud of your so
called flaws. A good way
to start is by making pos
itive remarks about your
own body, and eventually
you will leam to accept it,
and all of its “imperfec
tions.”
Because if you seek
happiness through the
reflection in the mirror;
I’m afraid you may never
find it.
Crystal Villarreal is
a senior from
Lawrenceville majoring
in magazines and
women’s studies
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