For four and a half years, I have sat back silently watching things happen at this University. Occasionally, something will bother me to the point that I cannot contain my silence. I have often been criticized by those I call out. Once, I wrote a column condemning the inappropriate messages and pictures on fraternity T-shirts. It sparked a weeks long debate in our editorial section.
After trying in vain several times to get Ellender Residence Hall to allow students to adjust their own thermostats, a staff member gave me a message: I could write all the columns I wanted, but nothing would change. Signs were posted soon after which said $60 will be charged if they see your air has been changed. And they will check each room.
I’ve condemned cafeteria food, namely the bouncing chicken nuggets.
I criticized the University for not holding Women’s History Month events. Soon after (Check your old copies of The Nicholls Worth. You’ll see proof of this), events started appearing. Coincidence? Maybe.
I’ve anonymously lambasted other places through our staff editorials. I bet you didn’t know that there is a five member editorial board which chooses topics and rotates writers for our weekly editorial, did you? Just because my title is the root of the article type doesn’t mean I wrote it. I write about one out of every five.
But now, I’m putting my name on this. It has bothered me every year since I’ve been on this staff, which is every year I’ve been in school. If it irritates you, oh well. You only have to deal with me for one more week. Then I graduate, God willing.
Our Student Government Association senators, while they have done good things, are petty and childish.
Boy, does it feel good to finally say that.
When it comes to allocating money, the SGA is worse than Ebeneezer Scrooge at Christmas, so long as the organization asking for money is not the SGA.
But if it’s something for the senators, you’d think they’d won the lottery.
Recently, we praised the senators for letting their T-shirt motion die out. Do you realize that many of your senators are trying to spend YOUR money on T-shirts for themselves?
If they want to spend student funs on T-shirts for one organization, they should purchase T-shirts for EVERY student organization, from the In-line hockey club to the Biology Society. It’s our money. Buy us T-shirts.
If one of the organizations I am affiliated with wants shirts, we pay for them ourselves. The Nicholls Players make shirts for every production. We use money out of our own pockets.
Some senators stood up for this. This is why the motion slightly fizzled. Let’s hope the ad hoc committee for T-shirts fizzles, too.
When members of the Residence Hall Association wanted to go on convention, to learn how to be better student leaders, therefore passing on their knowledge to benefit residents, the SGA tried to find a cheaper way for them to go. They would not part with their precious funding. As it is, $3,000 or so will not be spent this semester and will roll over to next semester’s budget. Why all the fuss, then?
The argument was that RHA asks for money every year. This organization raises some money for its trip and only asks for a little assistance for travel, etc.
SGA wanted to know why the RHA hadn’t thought of the costs and started planning sooner.
Then, the yearly COSGA motion popped up. Ok. So SGA senators want to attend using student funding. Well, if RHA could, SGA should be able to as well.
However, SGA does not want just money for the trip. They want money for meals (See page 2).
When Student Publications staff members attend the National College Media Convention, delegates must pay their own registration ($75 regular, $85 late) and meals. Since the convention was in New Orleans this year, we offered to let extra staffers attend.
These people paid their registration, their parking ($19 a day for three and a half days), their meals, gasoline and hotel rooms. Did they complain? Not really.
Does this mean I think SGA should fund us? Not on your life. We are perfectly happy with the way we do it. SGA should try it some time.
I commend Sens. Deanna Duet and James Irwin, along with their supporters, for realizing that SGA should not be so selfish. If the senate was full of people who thought like you, I bet a lot more would get accomplished. Thank you for speaking your mind.
And shame on the senators who had the majority vote to include meals in the allocation.
Wake up, SGA. Spend the money on smaller organizations. Don’t waste it on yourselves.
