Allegations of corruption in the process of selecting freshman to serve in the First Year Council was a flash point of conflict last year that eventually brought down then-Student Government President Grant Cochran and other SGA leaders.
This year, the SGA has vowed not have a repeat performance and has put safeguards in place that they say will not allow human interference or corruption of applications to occur.
“Last year’s applications were done on paper, but this year, they are done entirely online, leaving no chance for them to be altered,” Meagan Bryant, SGA press secretary, said.
Last year, members of the SGA manipulated the paper applications by altering applicants’ grade point averages and marking some applications, which were supposed to be graded blindly and without student names attached to them, with stars to indicate their preferable status.
Former FYC member Zack Freeman who served on the scoring committee last year, admitted to witnessing conversations between other members on what scores to give each applicant.
During the selection process, a few scoring committee members were altering applications until 4:17 a.m., according to SGA records. Those members had been changing GPAs and applications to make them high enough based on the SGA Code of Laws Eligibility to ensure an interview.
This year, 860 applications were turned in, a vast increase from last year’s record-setting 600 applications. Ninety-eight students will be interviewed to fill the 50 open seats.
“As a previous member of FYC myself, I am thrilled to see all that the new first year council will accomplish this year,” Mackenzie Perpich, FYC director, said. “FYC is a great opportunity for a freshmen to really get involved with SGA and make a difference in the freshman class.”
The amount of seats is allotted by dorm, much like states are allotted seats to the U.S. House of Representatives, so the larger dorms hold more seats. For example, Tutwiler, which has over 900 women in it, will have nine seats, while Lakeside East, a much smaller dorm, will only have one seat.
“Another change made this year is that FYC director Mackenzie Perpich will sit in on the interviews, though she does not hold a deciding vote as to who gets the position,” Bryant said.
The selection committee consists of two members of the executive board, two from the senate, two from judicial and one from student housing.
Bryant said the chance to be interviewed is based on GPA, dorm, college, major and the students’ answers to three general questions.
“I am very pleased with the SGA First Year Council application and interview process thus far,” SGA President Matt Calderone said. “The selection process includes input from the three branches of SGA, The Residence Hall Association, UA Student Affairs and former SGA First Year Council members in order to identify the most excellent students from this year’s freshmen class.”
The interviews are taking place this week. Students going through the interview for seats will find out if they have been selected to serve on Sept. 23 at 5 p.m.
