5 Questions for the 2009-2010 Student Association

By: Dan Keylin, WRGW News

At noon today, April 30, 2009, President Julie Bindleglass, Executive Vice President Jason Lifton, and a new Senate were sworn in as members of the 2009-2010 Student Association. The SA and the students who they represent are looking towards the future. However, with many of the same players still involved as last year, some are questioning if the new administration will able to get past the issues that plagued the last administration. 5 questions hang over the SA:

5. What scandals will plague the SA next year? 2008-2009 featured a plethora of public relations miscues ranging from a mysterious payment source for several Nationals baseball tickets to the questionable success of the Unity Ball and the drama that plagued the Inaugural Float. At this point, the student body is expecting to see more scandals; it’s simply a matter of when the first one will occur.

4. What will happen to the “Abolish The SA” movement? The movement received a lot of press attention in the beginning of April but has seemingly lost traction. Will organizers actually go forward with collecting the 2500+ signatures necessary to force a referendum, or will all momentum be lost come the fall semester? Will those responsible for the initiative reveal themselves and explain their motives?

3. Will President Julie Bindelglass be successful? With the controversial disqualification of Kyle Boyer, a razor thin runoff victory, and a movement designed to disband the SA, can Julie unite the campus and accomplish her campaign goals? Julie has assembled a rather diverse cabinet with ties to many aspects of student life, but then again, so did her predecessor former President Vishal Aswani. The early indicator of potential success or failure will be keeping a watchful eye on the cohesion of her cabinet, something that many claim was lacking in the Aswani administration.

2. What role will newly-elected grad school senators play? Graduate Senator Jamie Baker (CPS-G) is the chair of the Rules Committee, a powerful entity that determines organizational protocol and can significantly impact the flow of legislation. 

1. Will the SA (be forced to) reform itself? In their final meeting of the year, a vote to put a referendum for a new SA Constitution before the student body was tabled by the SA, which effectively killed the latest efforts for reform. Will President Bindelglass and Executive Vice President Jason Lifton try to change the SA Constitution and how will transparency of the organization be affected in the process? To what extent will outside pressure influence them, especially considering former Executive Vice President Kyle Boyer who reportedly plans to unveil an advocacy-oriented organization called the ‘Colonial Impact Group’ to promote spirit and community among the student body?

The bottom-line for the future of the 2009-2010 Student Association: reserved optimism.