The Student Government Association Senate took action last Thursday to severely limit those students allowed to run for executive positions within the student government in future elections.
The bill, originally sponsored by 21 of the 25 members of the Senate, requires that all candidates for president, executive vice president, vice president for administration and public affairs and election commissioner serve at least one full semester in the Senate or as a member of the Cabinet in order to be eligible to serve in the executive branch.
The bill must pass the Senate again before it will be put before the student body as a referendum. The referendum will not go before the student body in the upcoming SGA election at the end of this month.
Senator Brandon McNary, representing the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, spoke strongly in favor of the legislation.
"The reason I thought this would be a good idea is because it will insure the people who run for these positions have enough experience," McNary said. "You have to have a working knowledge of what the Senate and SGA is all about, and I think those requirements would facilitate that."
McNary also said he believes the legislation will insure that votes are cast based on experience and not based on social standing.
"This legislation takes away the popularity aspect of SGA and guarantees that candidates are elected based on experience."
Gretchen Jenkins, senator for the College of Liberal Arts, said she strongly disagrees with the proposed legislation.
"Restricting the pool of candidates to only those who have served on the Senate is in no way democratic - even if the measure is presented as a referendum before the students," she said. "This proposal is extremely elitist."
Jenkins also noted that the president of the United States is rarely elected from Congress.
"The last president to be popularly elected from Congress was John F. Kennedy. It just doesn't happen," Jenkins said.
Gene Fitch, associate vice president of Student Affairs and dean of Student Life, spoke with caution about the proposed legislation. He expressed concern about the qualification requirements, commenting that it was too restrictive and eliminated potentially qualified students who were not members of SGA.
"Legislation like this has come up before, and I am just letting you know how the administration feels about it," Fitch said.
Several senators withdrew support from the legislation after discussion ceased.
SGA President Jay Cash, who was not present during the vote, also expressed his unease concerning the bill.
"This bill closes the door to the student body," Cash said. "It goes against democracy and limits the pool of candidates for executive positions to less than one-tenth of a percent of the entire student population."
Attorney General Lora Hortert said she believes the decision should ultimately be left to the students.
"I think the student body should weigh whether or not experience at MTSU is the most important factor," Hortert said.
Hortert also expressed concerns about students who transfer to MTSU, but were very active in student government on other campuses.
"There are probably many students who would be just as qualified to run for these offices," Hortert said. "They just might not be involved in SGA at MTSU."
Senators who favored the measure argued that effective leadership means having an executive branch with prior experience in SGA, but those who opposed the legislation maintain that only the executive vice president-the officer who conducts Senate meetings-regularly interacts with the Senate.
According to the SGA constitution, the SGA president must attend at least four Senate meetings a semester, and at that time provide the Senate with updates on issues around campus.
The remaining members of the executive branch-the vice president of administration and public affairs and the election commissioner-rarely interact with senators, but routinely attend Senate meetings.
Senator Steven Disser, representing the College of Liberal Arts, also sponsored the legislation.
"It is a matter that will require much more debate and deliberation," Disser said. "It has its strong points and its weak points."
Similar legislation has come before the Senate before, but it has always been voted down. According to McNary, the current proposal is less restrictive than its predecessors. Students must only serve one semester in the Senate before being able to run for executive offices, whereas in previous legislation, students had to serve in the Senate for a full year.
"We'll see how it goes," McNary said. "The support for this bill was much stronger than previous bills like it. If it passes the Senate again, it is ultimately up to the students."
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