Through the course of my four years at the Capstone, numerous Crimson White headlines come to mind. I think of the tense, polarizing election of Stephen Oliver as the University’s 96th SGA President. I think of countless articles and editorials about SGA controversies such as the notorious trip to Pasadena, California in 2009 and the recent corruption allegations during the application process for First Year Council only a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately, controversies are what people remember. One ill deed or act of questionable character will overshadow dozens of positive actions one makes. This is true in life, and especially true in politics.
Nobody understands that more than Stephen Swinson. In a matter of weeks, Swinson has made it a personal goal to improve SGA’s relationship with the UA students and the Tuscaloosa community.
Last Sunday, the SGA launched a new commitment to community service. The Sunday Day of Service Initiative is a perfect way to unite students through a great cause. With very little preparation and promotion, over 150 UA students arrived in Alberta ready to work.
If you don’t know what the Sunday Day of Service is, it is an organized effort of UA students that will meet every Sunday at noon to help clean up devastated parts of the Tuscaloosa area that were affected by the tornado on April 27, 2011.
When students could have been lounging around on their last day of the weekend, they were shoveling debris. Swinson has taken an opportunity as the new leader of this University’s SGA to rally all students together
For the first time in months, the SGA is providing something that this area desperately needs. Whatever issues Swinson saw in the SGA’s handling of the April 27tornado, he has done his best thus far to improve them.
He has assigned people who have experience working in disaster relief. Matt Calderone, the current Deputy Executive Vice President, is leading the effort. Calderone was an intern with the city clerk’s office when the storm hit. He worked around the clock in coordination with the Mayor’s office and University leaders in the weeks following the storm. Perhaps nobody was more prepared to lead this initiative than him.
While events like this will certainly not eliminate any negative press that the Grant Cochran resignation brought to the SGA, it is a step towards improvement. Those responsible for the First Year Council debacle have either resigned or are still under judicial review. It is the administration’s discretion on when those documents are released.
What Swinson and the rest of the SGA can do is focus on the future. If the Cochran resignation did teach us anything, it is that one poor decision can lead to the downfall of an entire legacy.
The current SGA administration knows they have lost the trust of the student body, and they know it will take months to gain it back. What the Day of Service shows is that for the first time in a long time, the SGA is committed to providing tangible help for the Tuscaloosa community and they are committed to motivating the student body into assisting in this effort.
Jake Gray is a senior majoring in economics and journalism. His column runs on Tuesdays.
