Sarah Quintanilla

While the White House crumples under its new-found incompetence, the UT San Antonio Student Government Association proudly emulates the quality. Propagating low voter turnout, failing to document progress and violating a constitution all point toward corruption in an ordinary democracy. Fortunately for the SGA, it has propped up a system where these mistakes do not matter — where it can ignore the 42,000 students it fails to represent and still cash a check. 

The Paisano requested information from the SGA on its functions through the Public Information Act on March 6. The PIA requires government entities to publish requested public information. According to the UT San Antonio Office of Legal Affairs, the SGA does not maintain consolidated records for committee meetings with university administration or propositions the SGA has brought to administration. Items like these are easily tracked, and it is grossly irresponsible not to monitor them. Failing to note these important meetings and progress markers makes it near-impossible for any student to know whether SGA fights for them since its meetings are largely glorified campus event advertisements. 

The SGA has also violated its constitution twice this semester. Its elections are supposed to occur before spring break, but only now — a month later — are applications open. After former President Brianna Miller stepped down and, then, Vice President Michael Valdez assumed her role, the SGA was required to hold a special election to fill Valdez’s role. It again neglected this responsibility. 

To the SGA, these continuous violations are acceptable because it has created a cyclical system where no one can hold them accountable. Afterall, inaction fuels disengagement. Once attendance fails to fill a small room in the Student Union, it does not matter how much the SGA embraces ineptitude as a core value; no one is watching. SGA then simply announces every once in a while that its leadership is trying to increase student participation to muster their dignity.

When students finally question the SGA, their lackluster documentation dissolves students’ ability to enforce responsibility. Even if the association was affecting real change, not a single person could tell. 

After The Paisano published a previous article discussing the SGA, the association removed the little information it had on its functions. Roadrunners can no longer find historical meeting minutes, election data and resolutions online. After a curious student fails to find anything online and decides to ask questions in person, they are given bureaucratic non-responses from its helicopter advisor and fumbling leadership. 

The current SGA wants students to believe that the bare minimum is too much to ask for. If it ever hopes to be taken seriously, SGA cannot excuse perpetrating a system that stifles 42,000 voices and burns $47,000 annually. SGA, end the cycle of indifference.