Page 6 The Lion's Eye ~~ oe Aa rE = = /B PE = October 2, 2006 Letter to the Editor: Club Support or Lack Thereof In 1959, Dinah Washington scored a number five hit on the billboard chart with the single "What a Difference .a Day Makes." How about what a difference two weeks can make? Unless you're Stevie Wonder, you have prob- ably noticed a huge difference on this campus. The new SGA, the Lion's Party, in just two weeks has managed to upset people in their own cabinet, Lion Ambassadors, THON, and a number of "neutral" students. What could they have done? It is wrong to really say "they" because, as stated earlier, some SGA members are not happy with what SGA President, Paul Hurych is doing. Clubs are feeling the effects of his leadership on campus as well. In two weeks, Hurych has made many bold actions to invoke this. His new rule of community service for money has the Tedros Asmelash Engineering Patty Machado Business Law John Hayduk Athletic Training “He could be in the is. “He’s in Africa with a ‘k” “Didn't he just die?” Marat Mardenov Engineering Hisham Rahmi, Assistant Soccer Dan Taylor Political Science “ He's hiding in one Coach of his many houses; he has too much “In a hole.” money to hide in “I have no caves. “ idea.” THON and M.A.D.E. members disheartened. Last year's SGA made it a policy to make community service a requirement; this year it is the only way a club can get their $100 to start off the year. In the spring when Paul was asked about this, he explained that M.A.D.E. and THON would really benefit from this new policy. But, in} actuality, these two organizations find it borderline offensive and desensitizing to the reason they do charity work in the first place. Hurych's disdain for clubs and organizations on cam- pus has become even more apparent with the recent low attendance at the SGA Open Meeting held Tuesday, September 19. After the meeting, Hurych complained to a number of non-SGA students who did not attend the meeting because they are members of other clubs on campus. He told them that their priorities are wrong, and that they are supposed to be at the SGA meetings. Unfortunately, Hurych does not seem to realize that clubs, such as Lion Ambassadors, have it in their consti- tution to meet Tuesdays throughout the year. Since when is it the job of the SGA President to dis- courage students from participating in clubs and organi- zations on campus? Hurych is making SGA the biggest priority on campus, and in doing so, causing club and organization members to believe it. This is not how this campus should be. The Student Government Association of Penn State Delaware County should support all of the ~ clubs and organizations on campus by being a resource and a guide. It should not attempt to control the clubs’ members or activities. In the end, we are all a part of this campus - just because we are not members of SGA, does not mean our interests count less. -Matt Kelly, mjk5039@psu.edu & Stacie Mann, smm450@psu.edu The Lion's Epe Editorial Board: Editor- in- Chief: Andrew Walter Managing Editor: Sharon Achilles Photo Editor: Copy Editor: David Pondelick Layout Manager: Dave Plecenik Features Editor: Brittany Neimeth Kat Specht Associate Editor: ; Pam Przybylski Dus Editon John lettertothe A Penn State of Mind in Editor: A wise man once told me that if nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies. The Lion’s Party, which makes up the current student government, came into office last spring on a promise of change. As a student government, it is true that we are enacting new policies and re-evaluating some policies that have stood for quite some time. It is also true that, as president of the student government, I am the face of this change. However, we vehemently stress that the changes that are being made are motivated by a consensus within our “organization and that that consensus represents the entire student body. That being said, we would like to address several con- cerns that have been brought to our attention regarding the relationship between the SGA and clubs on our cam- pus. As the overseeing body for the clubs on campus, we undoubtedly want to do everything in our power to help clubs be as active and prosperous as possible. In regards to our community service incentive policy, we felt that rewarding clubs for taking extra initiative and participating in community service would be far better than punishing them if they did not, which was the case last year. We did not want to over-burden clubs, whose members undoubtedly have a multitude of obligations as it 1s, with additional requirements. We would also like to point out that community service is not the only way that clubs can obtain funding for their activities and events. We have offered every club the option of requesting funding directly from the student government before they receive their $100 community service dona- tion. This is in addition to the Student Activity Fee committee, to which clubs can also request funding. The SGA has also offered every club assistance in fundrais- Contributing Staff: Christina Felizzi, Sarah Diehm, Christina Salters, Bryan Drissel, Matt Schoenberg, Alice George, Ashley Salada, Matt George STAFF ADVISOR: Professor Jennifer aguire Contact the Lion’s Eye: e-mail: saal92@psu.edu, telephone: 610-952-2602, office: 202 Commons Student Government ing throughout the course of the year. Clubs that specialize in community service certainly do so without the expectation of being rewarded. However, we feel as though the $100 donation, which was increased from the $50 of last year, to clubs for commu- nity service will only provide more resources to aide them in their desire to help others. Without question, clubs can use this money to fund a community service project or to simply donate to a charity of their choosing. In regards to our desire to have more attendance at our open meetings, we feel as though it is very important for as many people as possible to let their voices be heard. The Student Government Association is the voice of the student body. We feel as though the more feedback we are able to receive, the better we will be able to serve the campus community. In no way, shape, or form are we attempting to discourage participation in the many clubs and organizations that our campus has. If any club, organization, or student on campus has concerns about actions that their government has or has not taken, the SGA open meetings are the ideal place to voice them, thus allowing open dialogue between constituents and - representatives. This idea is the very basis of a repre- sentative democracy. Through the initiatives that we are taking and the changes that we are making, we have a vision of our campus blossoming into what Penn State Delaware County was meant to be: A community of people learn- ing. Please do not hesitate to send any questions or com- ments to mail to:PaulH@psu.edu. -Paul Hurych
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