SGA needs more relevant issues

Inside April 22, 2003's Issue

-Editorials-

FC Charger

Editor's Box

Student government should focus on more relevant issues

Georgia Highlands College is not exactly a school of grand tradition. When the Student Government Association decided to have a vote to change the school mascot, the common consensus among most students was, “What mascot?”

The result of the vote was to simply update our current mascot (The Charger), but the issue to be had with this sort of thing is nonetheless significant.

It’s not as if we have much in the way of a competitive sports team to speak of. Giving us a new image is not going to instill more school spirit in the students because there’s not much to be spirited about. It’s just impractical.

And let’s face it — a large percentage of our school is comprised of non-traditional students and second-chancers. Floyd is an excellent and relatively inexpensive two-year option to the university or technical college route. We’re not UGA, and no one enrolls with great hopes of becoming an FC Charger. The whole thing is just silly.

It is ironic that the SGA, which serves as the “voice for all students in college affairs,” according to the FC website, isn’t listening to anyone but themselves.

Furthermore, on the relative scale of school-related issues, tweaking a mascot that many people still aren’t even aware we have seems like small potatoes. What about recent quibbles over cafeteria price gauging? Even that makes, by comparison, the state of our irrelevant mascot seem, well, irrelevant.

With the SGA evolving into a new form next year, maybe increased student participation in the SEC will encourage them to tackle more important matters than the SGA did.

A major problem with the old student government was that many students with school-related issues were not being heard simply because they weren’t speaking up. Perhaps a student government that is actively involved with the rest of the students in trying to improve campus life and student services will instill more school pride than anything.