“Who cares about the Student Government Association, anyway?”

Two years ago I could have written that exact letter to the editor and believed every word of it. I could have sat in front of my computer and wondered what the point of getting riled up about the actions of the administrative body of an institution that I would spend no more than four years at really was.

Even last year, as I was cutting my teeth as a new columnist, I was determined to write about what I firmly believed people wanted to read; that is, what I now consider fluff.

I can’t tell you when that watershed moment occurred – that moment when I decided to take things seriously, whether anyone was paying attention or not.

It might have been in that week following the tornado, when I sat up in the newsroom talking with Crimson White reporters working 18-hour days despite the fact that many had technically graduated and thus were no longer members of student media.

It may have been this summer, after reading Wesley Vaughn’s superb “Witnesses to Witt-lessness” column, and the overwhelming response it received from students despite being published in the middle of summer.

It could have come about earlier this semester when a lower administrator received a phone call instructing him to have a conversation with me about my response column to Dr. Bonner and its “aggressive language.”

No, if asked, I couldn’t put a finger on when I started to care. But I can tell you why.

We may only be at The University of Alabama temporarily, but what I’ve come to realize is that what you do in college shapes the lens through which you view the rest of your life and the environment you spend it in. If we don’t force people (specifically members of the SGA) to be responsible for their actions when we’re students, how can we expect them to then enter the real world with any of sense of accountability?

While the SGA does possess the power to influence student life, it is first and foremost a place for those interested in politics to learn about how it works. If a culture of corruption and backdoor dealing is permitted to exist, then it stands to reason that when those students involved start their political careers they will do so with the incorrect notion that this is somehow acceptable. That it is simply how you play the game.

We enroll in college to get a degree that will hopefully allow us to find a place in the greater society upon graduation. What is sadly less emphasized is that our time in college also serves as a training ground for being fruitful members of that same society.

If you don’t want to care about the SGA or the administration because you feel it’s pointless, that’s fine, but what happens when you live in a suburb that’s one vote away from suddenly being incorporated into a new city with higher taxes? Hopefully there will be someone to challenge it and make sure people know what’s going on. Or you could do it.

Building on the idea of a training ground, while we ultimately move on from the University, it is also our responsibility to improve upon its existing foundation – and make no mistake, it is our responsibility. We have an administration, sure, but the fact is that we must be the vanguard that keeps the student a person to be developed and not a commodity to be sold.

This is why the University’s misuse of FERPA to hide the SGA depositions is important. This is why the release of those documents is so vital. The SGA is an organization elected and appointed by students, thus it is accountable to students first, and only if we choose to allow it, the administration second. By handing over depositions regarding the resignation of Grant Cochran, the SGA could compromise its own sovereignty and, in turn, its relevance as an organization that represents the student body to the administration.

I’m sad to say this isn’t the first time. Only this time, as Tray Smith pointed out in his column last week, “the old rules don’t apply…the ground is shifting beneath us.”

Stephen Swinson, you said, “The number one goal right now is to make sure the student body has confidence in their student government representatives.” Prove it. Demand the release of these documents; force the University to say, “No, we are going to refuse to acknowledge the SGA as anything more than a pass time for kids who like to play dress up.”

This is an extraordinary time, more so than any other since I’ve been enrolled. It would be a shame to waste it.

John Davis is a senior majoring in telecommunications and film. His column runs Mondays.