Members of the Student Government Association voted last Sunday on a resolution that would create a position for an international student senator in the SGA, following a lengthy debate. Though members raised a number of concerns about the legislation, it narrowly passed.
The resolution in question, introduced by former SGA member Zachary Sullivan and sponsored by many members of the SGA including Vice President Riley Quinlan, would work by amending the student government constitution to create a position available only to students without US citizenship. The amendment also includes a proviso establishing the process for confirmation of international student status through the Office of Admission and/or the Office of Records for future International Student Senators.
Proponents of the resolution say that this measure will cover a deficiency in representation in SGA, allowing previously unheard international students to express their needs and desires. Although no position in the organization is barred to international students, many feel that international students are not adequately represented.
A senator responsible for representing these students specifically would allow for better projections of needs. Sullivan believes that through this legislation, the “international student body may be granted the leadership opportunities and representation on SGA it deserves.”
Other supporters, in response to concerns that one international student did not necessarily understand the situation of another, suggested that the shared experience of living in a foreign county would not only aid the new senator in meeting the needs of his/her constituents, but also to offer a unique perspective to the SGA.
The resolution has received support from seven student organizations on campus including many international student groups and both the College Democrats and the College Republicans; however, support for the legislation is far from universal.
A few members of SGA expressed doubts about the efficacy of the resolution. President Ryan Bouray felt that it set a dangerous precedent for the creation of positions for the diverse populations on campus. He feared that it would lead to a large number of similar resolutions in the future that sought to fill in the perceived gaps in representation.
Undergraduate Student Senator Justin Keenan also made the point that existing senator positions already serve to represent international students and their needs.
He went on to argue that current senators are responsible for address the needs of all of their student constituents international or not. Rather than changing the SGA to better accommodate international students, he felt that the best solution necessitated efforts to increase the involvement of international students in student government.
When attempting to sum up his views of the current system, he borrowed from the old colloquialism, “if it ain’t (sic) broke, don’t fix it.”
With the passage of the resolution it now falls on the student body to decide the issue. In the cases of a constitutional amendment, the measure can only receive implementation following a vote by UIS students. The resolution will appear on the 2013 spring referendum, allowing the members of this university a say in the matter.
