SG gave up opportunity for clean start

After the attempted impeachment of student body president Omar Khan and vice president Ryan Morris, SG had the chance to start with a clean slate when new people came in to take office. Regrettably SG chose to taint this new record early on.

After receiving the majority of votes in the initial election, Bijal Chhadva and vice president Andrew Aubery won the run-off election with a 163-vote lead. Considering Khan and Morris won the presidency and vice presidency with only a two-vote lead the year before, this, while not a landslide, was a clear victory for Chhadva and Aubery.

To then bring allegations forth after the election was a done deal not only left students unsure who will be their SG president and vice president when they come back in the summer or even in the fall; it also created a bad aftertaste for what could have been the chance to put old feuds to rest. Furthermore, questioning the election after a victory has been declared creates a bad precedent for future dealings and elections.

The student body president and vice president’s job is to be a respected link between the student body by which they are elected and faculty members, as well as to represent students’ interests at Board of Trustees proceedings. This can only be achieved if both the students and faculty take the individuals holding the office seriously.

From the student perspective SG was already having image trouble — this is probably the main reason SG had so many problems finding volunteers for its new senate. This was the worst time to give students indication it was up to its old tricks.

As Chhadva and Aubrey have only begun their term, matters can still improve. But to win the already doubtful student’s trust back it is imperative that similar events do not occur in the future.