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A LOOK INSIDE THE ISSUE
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THE MAROON TIGER
THE ORGAN OF STUDENT EXPRESSION
SINCE 1925
WHERE DID THEY GO WRONG?
EVALUATING A FAILED AGENDA
Senate portraits from the 2012-2013 Senate Session still hang in Chivers Dining Hall this year.
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE ■ ATLANTA, GA
2/20/14 - 2/26/14 - VoL.88, No. 11
POSTED BY: @SCOOTERTAYLOR
4 DAYS AGO
136 LIKES
NEWSLINE
PRESIDENT WILSON INAUGURATED:
ON FEB. 14, 2014, DR. JOHN SILVANUS WILSON WAS
OFFICIALLY INAUGURATED AS THE 11TH PRESIDENT OF
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE. OVER 2,000 FACULTY, STAFF, DIS
TINGUISHED GUESTS AND STUDENTS ATTENDED THE INAU
GURATION AND HIS INAUGURAL SPEECH WAS TITLED “THE
WORLD OF OUR DREAMS."
WONDER PROMISES CONCERT:
DURING THE ANNUAL FOUNDER’S DAY CANDLE IN THE
DARK GALA, CANDLE RECIPIENT STEVE WONDER PROM
ISED TO RETURN TO MOREHOUSE COLLEGE AND HOST
A BENEFIT CONCERT IN EFFORT TO RAISE $500,000 FOR
MOREHOUSE AND SPELMAN COLLEGE.
MT WINS AWARDS:
THE MAROON TIGER RENEWED ITS AWARD-WINNING STA
TUS ON FEB. 7, 2014 AT THE GEORGIA COLLEGE PRESS AS
SOCIATION PRESS INSTITUTE. MT WON FIRST PLACE IN BEST
CAMPUS COMMUNITY SERVICE—FEATURES, BEST CAMPUS
COMMUNITY SERVICE—EDITORAL (THE BODY ISSUE) AND
SECOND PLACE IN BOTH BEST LAYOUT AND GENERAL
NEWSPAPER EXCELLENCE.
THE WILSON FRAT CHALLENGE:
IN EFFORTS TO INCREASE ALUMNI GIVING, PRESIDENT
JOHN WILSON ANNOUNCED A FRATERNITY GIVING CHAL
LENGE FOR ALL FRATERNITIES ON CAMPUS. THE CHAL
LENGE WILL TRACK GIVING FROM EACH FRATERNITY UP
UNTIL THE MAY 2014 GRADUATION.
IN THE AIR:
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE'S MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
COLLECTION WAS FEATURED IN THE U.S. AIRWAYS
MAGAZINE EARLIER THIS MONTH. THE COLLECTION
INCLUDES APPROXIMATELY 7,000 PIECES OF HAND
WRITTEN ITEMS, INCLUDING AN EARLY DRAFT OF
THE FAMOUS "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH, THE 1964
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE SPEECH AND NEARLY 100 HAND
WRITTEN SERMONS FROM THE 1950S AND 1960S,
SOME OF WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED OR
STUDIED BEFORE.
SPELMAN AND MOREHOUSE STUDENTS REPRESENT THE
CLASS OF 2015 AT THE CANDLE IN THE DARK GALA.
JARED LOGGINS
MANAGING EDITOR
JARED.LOGGINS@YAHOO.COM
The Morehouse SGA Senate,
typically regarded as the spine of stu
dent advocacy on campus, has failed
to carry out its agenda, some say. And
now, students from various corners of
campus are evaluating the senate
ahead of Spring Elections.
Elected last April, the 26-member
SGA Senate had a unique opportunity
to make reforms to campus life through
legislation and with the credibility of a
new senate body of fresh faces. The
future, at the time, seemed promising.
More than a year later, and with one bill
passed, no public meeting records, and
few programs hosted, some argue that
the senate's promise of reform has long
dwindled away.
MISSING THE MARK
“Engagement” as a theme dur
ing last year's election had assuredly
garnered support from a student body
that seemed to be longing for a set of
fresh ideas. Fresh ideas are exactly what
came: nearly half of the newly elected
senate body was being elected for the
first time.
But recent interviews with SGA
Senators paint a much different picture
of the reality in the present 84th Session
of the SGA Senate.
After interviews with former and
current members, some point toward
a dysfunction at all levels of SGA and
the administration. For current Vice
President Temi Okotieuro ' 14, the SGA
Scholarship is a prime example.
“We could have come to a solu
tion regarding the SGA Senate Scholar
ship,” Okotieuro said. "But it didn't hap
pen. We [the senate] were cautioned
against moving forward at the request
of the Executive Board because the ad
ministration did not want the scholarship
to proceed.”
The Office of Financial Aid had
expressed concerns about how SGA
had distributed the scholarships in the
past. They provided small book schol
arships with a maximum of $1,000 per
student.
Still, the Senate reconvened on
Wednesday night to pass its first bill of
the school year-a bill to establish a Sen
ate Scholarship Committee. The bill, an
nounced by Sophomore Class Senator
Calvin Swint via email to an undisclosed
number of students, would set in stone
a plan for nominating and selecting
recipients for the money.
Other issues ranging from poor
attendance to dereliction of duty have
marred the senate this year. Swint said
that a number of senators were up for
expulsion due to an internal attendance
policy passed at the beginning of last
semester. The policy means that the en
tire body may elect to expel frequently
absent members.
Swint’s claims represent a grow
ing frustration among some students -
some making presumptions that student
senators are ineffective and power
hungry.
“The student government needs
leadership that will consciously work
and prepare to dismantle all previous
stigmas by working relentlessly to re
establish the fabric of student govern
ment,” Swint pushed back.
Okotieuro also indicated a per
vasive culture of apathy on campus as
reason for dysfunction. “We have not
been rallying behind a set of issues,” he
said. “And a lot of that has to do with
the culture of SGA - a culture that has a
lot to do with the leadership.”
The senate’s primary function -
to pass bills - is a central point of frustra
tion. To date, one piece of legislation
has been passed.
Writing and drafting bills, how
ever, has been far less of a problem.
Senators have written a number of bills
during this session. However, in accor
dance with the Senate Bylaws, bills sit in
limbo for as long as the committee fails
to mark them up and vote on them.
"There was much angst about
the senate's session this year and we
set a goal of matching, reaching, or
exceeding previous senate passing,”
Swint said. "It is my understanding that
in previous sessions upwards of 30 bills
have been proposed... so the lack of
initiative can only be attributed to the
lack of fulfillment of the duties of every
single senator.”
‘LACK OF CONTINUITY’
In 2012, under the leadership
of former senate Vice President DeJon
Hall, the senate had collectively passed
a total of 21 bills. Many of were meant
to affect the structure of the student
senate. Others were to improve the
student experience by way of student
scholarships and a change to a bi
weekly payroll system for work study
students.
But Hall, who is now a law
student at the University of Buffalo,
said that following his term, then SGA
President Anre Washington 1 13 and Vice
President Temi Okotieuro ’ 13 had ren
dered his tenure unproductive.
“Sadly, some of our work has
been for naught due to a lack of conti
nuity," Hall said. "Unfortunately, the SGA
secretary in charge of communication
under the Washington/Okotieuro ad
ministration deleted our online records,
thus hindering the 83rd Session’s ability
to continue the work of their predeces
sors."
Still, Hall credited much of the
successes his administration experi
enced two years ago to transparency
and actively engaging the student
body via Twitter, outdoor meetings, live-
streamed meetings, and a public log of
passed bills and resolutions.
Where some might be inclined
to solely blame the leadership tor this
senate session's lack of production, Hall
urged against it.
“It is important to note ... that
the productivity of the senate rests solely
on the shoulders of its senators,” Hall
insisted.
Swint agreed, “Temi cannot introduce
bills himself as the president and meet
ing mediator. It is unrealistic to place this
responsibility or blame on Temi's shoul
ders.”
Junior Matthew Guthrie, who
worked under both the 82nd and 83rd
Sessions of the SGA Senate, attributes
many of the challenges to a failure to
relate to the concerns of average stu
dents.
“The senate is in a state of stag
nation," Guthrie said. "It needs to be
disciplined. SGA encompasses every
student enrolled. We have to move
back to staying focused on what the
students want.”
Okotieuro says he takes full
responsibility for the senate's failures but
also cautioned against placing and/or
accepting blame on one specific indi
vidual.
"I take full responsibility for the
stagnation,” he said. “But my job is also
to serve as an impartial facilitator. I can
do but so much. The senators have to
do the leg work. And they have not so
far.”
Guthrie also attributed some of
the failures in the senate, and in SGA
more broadly, to leadership not follow
ing through with a vision.
“The structure in the senate is
good. That’s not the issue. The Vice
President has to focus his energy on
staying on top of things,” he insisted.
Still, some of the internal issues
within the senate body fall back on the
Ethics Committee, he argues. The Ethics
Committee is the engine of account
ability within the senate and is charged
with ensuring that senators follow
through with elected duties.
“If there is no strength in this
committee, there is no one to hold the
senate body accountable,” Guthrie
said. "Folks have to be held account
able. If they can’t do the job, someone
can.”
All has not been downhill, how
ever. Okotieuro's leadership along with
the senate during his first term in 2012-
2013 brought a number of changes to
the student body, including the student
scholarship, voter turnout initiatives, and
a revamped student constitution.
STILL HOPE
With only two to three weeks
before Spring SGA Elections, boosting
morale and passing legislation has be
come a near insurmountable mountain
to climb. Both the student body and
potential candidates seem to be look
ing ahead to next session, set to begin
next fall.
Some are more optimistic
about the future of the SGA Senate.
Sophomore Simeon Lyons was actively
involved in the Senate during the 83rd
Senate Session but stepped aside to run
tor Junior Board Trustee last spring.
“I would like for the SGA E-board and
the Senate to continue working col-
laboratively and explore new options to
get things done,” Lyons said.
Guthrie confirmed to The Ma
roon Tiger that he is considering a run
for Vice President and, like Lyons, sees
an opportunity to get things done.
“My two years in the senate
provided me a good idea of how things
work,” Guthrie said. "I have to be doing
more than I am for the college. I want to
better serve my campus. I want students
to know what we are doing. I want to
see an increase in student scholarships. I
want students to enjoy their time here.”
Asked what advice he has for
leaders in the coming year, Okotieuro
urges students to fully grasp the weight
of the office.
“Realize your worth and power,”
he said. “It is only powerful if you direct
your energy appropriately. The senate
is a task force of 26 people. You are the
most mobile group of men on campus.
Your job is to gather people and fight
toward a cause.”