BSC Condemns Democracy
Phil Marrone
Issue date: 5/30/09 Section: Opinion
Our government is currently spending almost a trillion dollars per year overseas promoting democracy through military operations, while at home our democracy is suffering. On the national level, constitutional government has been all but eradicated by unconstitutional Acts of Congress, a complete lack of respect for enumerated powers and a complete lack of respect for the rule of law. In our own Commonwealth, how many politicians are being found to be corrupt these days? And now at our college, we hear that two candidates popularly elected by the students will not be permitted to take their elected positions. If SGA is in the business of fixing elections, then why would they hold elections at all?
The United Nations General Assembly shows that an unelected legislative body can operate with relative ease. I would suggest that SGA follow this model if they plan to continue the outrageous behavior displayed over this past election. This outrage is not the first of its kind, but rather it is just one example of the establishments hindering our rights as students of this college.
In my own personal experience, I was required to jump through hoops to found the "Libertarian Club of Bridgewater State." The process took an entire semester and had more steps than one can imagine; I often wondered why. I should simply have had to tell them about my club's existence - so I could have access to the resources the school has to offer Student Organizations - not jump through hoops for "approval" when this is a public school and I am a dues-paying student. They would have had no right to deny the formation of my club.
Last semester, the History Club was suspended for not filing certain paperwork with the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership (OSIL). This is bureaucratic nonsense. The role of the school should be to protect clubs from double-booking rooms for events and matters of that nature, but never suspending club activity for bureaucratic reasons. Similarly, the Libertarian Club has been under constant ideological attack since its founding. When we first applied for official club status we were told that there were "already too many similar clubs on campus," even though there was no other political organization. After winning that battle, OSIL pushed forward the Democrat and Republican Clubs ahead of us, and they were official clubs on the Involvement Network without having to go through the semester-long certification that my club did.
The United Nations General Assembly shows that an unelected legislative body can operate with relative ease. I would suggest that SGA follow this model if they plan to continue the outrageous behavior displayed over this past election. This outrage is not the first of its kind, but rather it is just one example of the establishments hindering our rights as students of this college.
In my own personal experience, I was required to jump through hoops to found the "Libertarian Club of Bridgewater State." The process took an entire semester and had more steps than one can imagine; I often wondered why. I should simply have had to tell them about my club's existence - so I could have access to the resources the school has to offer Student Organizations - not jump through hoops for "approval" when this is a public school and I am a dues-paying student. They would have had no right to deny the formation of my club.
Last semester, the History Club was suspended for not filing certain paperwork with the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership (OSIL). This is bureaucratic nonsense. The role of the school should be to protect clubs from double-booking rooms for events and matters of that nature, but never suspending club activity for bureaucratic reasons. Similarly, the Libertarian Club has been under constant ideological attack since its founding. When we first applied for official club status we were told that there were "already too many similar clubs on campus," even though there was no other political organization. After winning that battle, OSIL pushed forward the Democrat and Republican Clubs ahead of us, and they were official clubs on the Involvement Network without having to go through the semester-long certification that my club did.
Be the first to comment on this story