Student Government Association President Stephen Swinson opened his State of the University address Monday night with a blunt assessment of the SGA’s shortcomings last fall.
“We stumbled out of the gate this year,” Swinson said. “We were imitating our counterparts in Washington rather than standing for the true ideals of the SGA. We were letting the student body down, and as a result, we eventually lost the trust and confidence of our fellow students.”
Swinson’s address quickly took a turn to the positive though, as he outlined the various ways the SGA has worked to restore student trust in the governing body.
Swinson stated that the judicial branch, led by SGA Attorney General David Simpson, was working hard to create a student government with ethical leadership principles.
“The senate’s new ethics code is a product of months of hard work between senators…who were dedicated to transparency and open, honest government,” Swinson said.
Michael Robson, a senior majoring in computer science, attended the address and said he found Swinson’s remarks appropriate, considering September’s SGA ethics scandals and the resulting resignation of then-SGA President Grant Cochran.
“I would say the SGA definitely did slip up earlier in the year,” Robson said. “But I do think they’ve recommitted and refocused. It has been good to see the judicial and legislative branches get more power.”
Swinson later mentioned his monthly email to the student body that highlights SGA accomplishments.
“I realized we were not doing an acceptable job showing the student body that their voices were being heard and that we were successfully advocating for progress on campus,” Swinson said about the decision to implement the monthly letter. “I want the student body to hold me accountable as their representative, and I want them to know the impact that everyone in this room has made on campus.”
For Robson, the recommitment and changes were a step in the right direction, but not far enough.
“I feel like its kind of the same old, same old. It’s definitely a little better than the old same old, but it hasn’t improved drastically,” Robson said. “Personally, I’d like to see a bigger overhaul of the existing system, but that requires a lot of really politically involved students, which is hard to find at this University.”
In addition to touching on internal changes in the SGA, Swinson outlined several projects and initiatives geared to the entire student body. Swinson stated that the SGA aims to surpass $100,000 in scholarship funds by the end of the next fiscal year, utilizing fundraisers like the annual Date Auction and the upcoming Taste of Tuscaloosa to raise money.
Swinson also announced that the SGA is introducing a Downtown Express, a project he said he is personally excited about.
“Students want to go downtown, but they don’t want to drive and have to deal with parking or other concerns,” he said. “It will be a pilot project for a month, and we have to make sure students go out and try it to make it successful.”
The transit system’s start date has yet to be announced, but Swinson said it is likely to be composed of two transits making five stops on campus, the Strip and downtown. Swinson said a similar project was attempted several years ago, but he believes it will be successful because the culture of the campus has changed.
Mark Lail, a junior majoring in economics, agrees with Swinson and believes it is a practical project.
“I think it will be a widely used service as an alternative to apartment complex shuttles,” Lail said. “It allows all students the opportunity to safely travel downtown for a night out”
