The war going on now will not, as much as we may wish, be over in a matter of weeks, months or possibly even years; if SGO members wish to put everything else on the back burner while focusing their energies on whatever other campus groups in which they are involved, we shall be waiting quite a while for any improvements to our day-to-day student lives.
The appropriate management of time is an important concern regarding our elected SGO officials. Naturally they have a life outside the SGO-they are students at Amherst as well-but by assuming a role in the upper echelon of student leadership, these elected representatives have also assumed more responsibility than the average Amherst student.
The current situation is unique, and the stress and wear of the past month has been obvious on everyone; however, this is also the perfect time to figure out exactly what is going wrong in our Student Government and enact some sort of policy to change the system as it stands now. There is simply not enough time in the day to handle the high-pressure job of being on the SGO Executive Council, juggle school work, perhaps athletics and leadership in other school activities. The best way to handle the situation would be to add a clause to the SGO Constitution, stating that the members of the SGO's executive board are not allowed to hold any leadership positions in on-campus clubs.
Though this suggestion may seem somewhat draconian, it is very similar to the current policy preventing Student Finance Committee (SFC) officials from being the president or treasurer of any clubs receiving SFC funds. By instituting this policy, a potential conflict of interests is avoided and, for SGO officials, the issue of time delegation is simplified. Membership in clubs will not be prohibited or monitored. It will be best for all students if those elected to serve them make that service their first priority.
We would hope that the SGO wants to hear concerns and comments about their performance. This new bylaw will only help the SGO officials to better manage their time and make the SGO work better for everyone involved.