The first footnote of the student Supreme Court's recent opinion contains a marshmallowy cushion for fragile egos in student government.
"Before beginning the discussion of the merits, the Court first notes that there is no evidence that either party is acting in bad faith. There is no reason to believe that Petitioner is complaining merely to complain, or as a political ploy, or for his own advantage. Likewise, and this is not an unimportant fact, there is no reason to believe the PAB or President (Michael) Rodriguez has acted with anything but the best of intentions."
But the court made the right decision, no matter how cushily they couched it.
The case was brought against the Programming and Activities Board by student Daniel Moody, who saw problems with the way the board appointed its leadership for next year -- by secret vote (read: one hand over the eyes, other hand in the air) in a closed-door meeting on March 24.
Moody charged that this process would lead to "cronyism" and had violated the new student government constitution.
We agree with Moody on that one and think that the court made the right decision in ordering PAB to hold an election.
The PAB has a crucial role in student government and in the real world on campus. It has the potential to involve the most students, to create a campus community and to make students proud of events at their school.
Students should get to vote on who leads this board, just as they vote on the top officers for the Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate and Professional Student Association.
With fewer than 10 days to set up an election in which any student can vote, the PAB will set up a town hall-style meeting where students can vote for the officers.
Though the meeting probably won't have the greatest voter turnout, at least students will now have an opportunity to choose PAB leadership -- succession will no longer be handed down behind a closed door. No branch of student government should be able to choose its leaders that way.
However, we don't want student government to "completely fall apart" as Moody says he does. We think the new constitution has brought great things to ASU and the student leaders who represent us.
With any new government document, there are loopholes to be closed. In trying to understand confusing wording in the student government constitution, the PAB stepped the wrong way through one of these loopholes. The student Supreme Court gently set the PAB straight.
The constitutional section in question should clearly be amended to avoid future problems and last-minute elections. The amendment should set forth a clear elections process for the PAB, perhaps combining its elections with those of the USG and GPSA.
Secret votes behind closed doors aren't the best way to govern.
