Dear Speaker Barto,

As someone who served the student body in the SGA Senate with you last year, I feel I have the credibility to speak out about your recent win. In Monday’s paper you discussed “looking at things from both sides of the issue,” “compromising” and “transparency.” However, I question your motives.

Let’s examine your record in the Senate last year. All year, your name appeared as an author on only one piece of legislation, which appeared on the floor three separate times. This bill clearly violates the SGA Constitution and did not make it out of my committee alive.

Article VIII, Section 2, Subsection C clearly states that “all SGA elections shall be conducted by secret ballot,” which, unfortunately for you, includes the Speaker of the Senate election. All votes by all Senators are open to their constituents, as they should be, with the exception of three votes: the vote for Speaker of the Senate, the vote for Secretary of the Senate and the vote for awards to be given out at the SGA annual awards banquet in April. All Senators should be entitled to a vote without being coerced by their peers or everyone’s favorite underground organization known to whip votes out each spring: the Machine.

And to put it frankly, you have no experience reaching across the aisle to look at things from both sides. I was a progressive Senator, and you made absolutely no effort to collaborate with me or any other progressives last year. Not to mention, you did not facilitate any project or author any other piece of legislation. Also I’ll note that on any piece of legislation last year that was the least bit controversial, you always sided with the Machine for your vote.

As to your belief in transparency, I have twice confirmed that you indeed participated in Tuesday evening meetings held in the basement of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity last year consisting of Senators supported by the Machine, in which you all discussed your stance on legislation and “encouraged” each other to vote certain ways. This is in direct violation of the ethics code that I wrote and collaborated on in the SGA Code of Laws, Title XIII, Chapters 1302-1306.

Why have I chosen to write this letter? In order for our campus to move forward and alleviate the problems in the Greek system, members of Greek houses will need to step forward and serve as examples. Greeks do not listen to the complaints of independents about systematic issues for the same reason independents do not listen to Greek complaints. Edmund Burke once stated, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” In my opinion, people like Senator Barto hold our campus back from greatness.

This election is exemplary of the current stalemate on campus. Fellow Greeks, if we are tired of the status quo, why are we remaining silent? Current Senators, I truly question the motives behind your votes for Speaker Barto. Did you vote this way because of coercion or do you truly believe he is the best candidate for the job? Did you honestly look at the other seven Senators eligible to run for Speaker and encourage any of them to run? I encourage those moving forward to honestly hold each other, including Speaker Barto, accountable for your actions, votes and motives. Many progressives on campus share common concern that a situation like the First Year Council application review scandal I witnessed last fall will occur again in 2012.

Lauren Hardison is a sophomore studying finance and Swahili. She served as an SGA C&BA Senator and as the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Ethics from 2011-2012.