Editorial: SGB needs new summer plans

From bringing electronic books to students to organizing the Green Fund, the current Student… From bringing electronic books to students to organizing the Green Fund, the current Student Government Board members have been working on some big projects. SGB president Charlie Shull said the spring semester is a time for board members to get the word out about their projects, research those projects and gather feedback from students. Once the fall semester hits, all that planning allows for smoother and quicker implementation — it’s a method that hinges its success on future progress.

Shull estimates, however, that at least three or four board members   — out of nine — will remain in the area for the summer, but for long-term projects, the summer is no time to leave town. Shull said the board members need to have their projects researched by the summer, and they need to know how students feel about those projects because it’s obviously difficult to receive student feedback when most students are gone. If they are as prepared as they should be by the semester’s end, board members can significantly further their initiatives over the span of the summer.

“Summer is excellent because things slow down in the sense that you don’t have these new sporadic issues [to deal with],” Shull said. “The summer can make or break your project.”

We hope that SGB can still advance its initiatives with so few members actually present on campus over the summer. Historically, it’s not uncommon for board members to leave the area for the summer. The board is only required to have one formal public meeting over the summer, but if more board members remained at Pitt for the break and SGB held more meetings, it would ensure progress on their projects and initiatives. We believe an amendment to SGB’s constitution requiring weekly meetings and board members to remain at Pitt for the summer would be an effective way to maximize the potential for progress on its projects. Shull said the greatest obstacle the board faces is balancing its student workload with SGB duties. The summer, then, could be a time for significant opportunity as class responsibilities would be alleviated.

Although there would surely be fewer attendees at public meetings because most students are home, the meetings would still increase transparency. The current board has made noticeable progress on becoming more transparent, and more public meetings would only further this goal. Since SGB members’ terms last one calendar year, they should be prepared to keep serving over the summer. We’re not presuming members that go home are spending their summers in languid relaxation, but if they really possess the Pitt pride they say they do, spending a summer focusing on their projects and SGB duties shouldn’t be an issue. While they can communicate through e-mail and by phone, meetings in person are the most effective way to interact.

Projects proposed on candidates’ slates are mostly long-term projects, and if the board members don’t effectively implement their initiatives, they’ve let students down. When the fall semester arrives, we hope to see the completion of these projects, yet we also hope that this board and future boards capitalize on the time and freedom the summer can provide to make tangible progress toward their goals.