Editorial: SGB slates should be professional, not petty

‘ ‘ ‘ Student Government Board is undoubtedly an important organization on campus. The students… ‘ ‘ ‘ Student Government Board is undoubtedly an important organization on campus. The students involved in SGB control the allocation of hundreds of thousands of dollars for groups and organizations on campus, determining what those groups of students can do. ‘ ‘ ‘ And Pitt students will elect next year’s board this Thursday. ‘ ‘ ‘ But when SGB candidates and board members embroil themselves in disputes over election rules in an effort to gain an edge in the elections, it doesn’t reflect well on them as student leaders. It makes them look petty and incapable of determining what’s important. ‘ ‘ ‘ Some slates are preoccupied with trying to catch each other breaking rules about endorsements and slate relations. There were allegations filed against three of the six slates last week for breaking sections of the election code. ‘ ‘ ‘ Current board member Lacee Ecker and another student leader, Endia Vereen, neither of whom are running in the election, filed an allegation against the One Vision One Voice slate for receiving an illegal endorsement from an SGB committee. ‘ ‘ ‘ Additionally, the Revolution slate accused One Vision One Voice of being related through links on Facebook to One Passion One Pride, while another accusation filed by Revolution accused the Students First slate of accepting an illegal endorsement from a non-student group. ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s true that oversight is important, if for no other reason than to ensure that slates have a level playing field and aren’t bending the system to their advantage. But every one of these allegations has been insignificant, to the point where few would even notice unless they were looking for it. ‘ ‘ ‘ The elections board either dismissed or proved all of these allegations not guilty. But that doesn’t change the fact that the controversies distracted people from actual campaign issues. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It would be different if one of the slates had actually committed a serious offense. If the most pressing issue in the election is whether two slates violated the rules by being accidentally related on their respective Facebook pages, then the state of student affairs is pretty grim. ‘ ‘ ‘ What the slates need to realize is that they’re trying to become the formal representatives of the student body, and thus they should comport themselves like professionals. Thousands of Pitt students look to SGB to make decisions regarding the student body and allocations. SGB positions aren’t just an opportunity to play government ‘mdash; they’re serious jobs. ‘ ‘ ‘ But if the slates can only bicker about who might have violated a rule with an insignificant or accidental action, that certainly doesn’t paint a picture of students stepping up to lead the school population. ‘ ‘ ‘ And because it’s inevitable that members from different slates will work together after the election, the candidates shouldn’t start their working relationships by making enemies with each other. ‘ ‘ ‘ Scrutinizing the actions of SGB members and slates is necessary, given the importance of the duties attached to the positions. But there’s a difference between close scrutiny and just being petty. The candidates should look out for their own best interests, but they shouldn’t try to sink each other with spurious allegations.