Just as we predicted, we are observing another year where the candidates for the various offices are using giveaways to obtain votes instead of campaigning on real issues that truly affect the student body.
Candidates are using scholarship money, food, candy, popcorn and any other giveaway that they believe will attract students to win their votes. It is truly a sad state of affairs for the student body. It is sad because there are students who believe that this is the way that candidates should be campaigning, simply because that is all that they have seen since arriving on campus.
The Hornet Tribune Editorial Board has finally concluded that Alabama State University student governance is not serious, as they sponsor more activities and events for students than passing legitimate and substantive legislation that will change the quality of student life.
For some time now, students have viewed members of SGA with either derision or ambivalence, believing executive officers to be pompous grandstanders who run simply for prepaid tuition, room and board, an opportunity to get new suits, travel to football games and pad their resumes.
The student body’s feelings for SGA can be seen in the vote turnout for the past three spring SGA elections. When we had 4,500 students enrolled, only 1100-1200 students would vote – less than one-third of the student body. Now that we have 3500 students enrolled, the numbers will probably continue to decrease.
Do not get us wrong — there are those members of SGA, past and present, who are nice, courteous, and whom we consider to be good people who may have wanted to make a difference but were unable. Unfortunately, over the last few years, the grandstanders have steadily increased and the ones who wanted to make a difference have steadily decreased, causing SGA to fall into a destructive spiral.
When one thinks of the many challenges that students face daily, it almost seems impossible that the entity that was created more than 70 years ago to advocate and fight for solutions has truly abdicated its role.
What was interesting for this staff to learn, is that our SGA is not the only one that students consider ineffective. Florida A&M University’s Student Government Association (SGA) Senate was faced with similar problems with their SGA. However, their senate passed groundbreaking legislation that could perhaps change the trajectory of student government for years to come.
On Feb. 5, 2025, The Famuan published an article detailing the impact of the newly implemented Evaluation of Candidacy Test. With the passage of Senate Bill SB24SP-004, this legislation was designed to improve the election process by ensuring that all candidates were properly educated regarding the roles that they are seeking BEFORE the election.
The article explained how candidates at FAMU often campaigned on promises and ideas far beyond their positions’ scope. The test, however, provided a solution: giving potential candidates a clearer understanding of their duties before they officially entered the race. The bill, first proposed in 2022, was initially rejected but later passed under the leadership of former SGA Chairman Jaylin Hankerson-Strappy, who emphasized its necessity: “We wanted to make sure that the students had trust in the back of their minds that these … elected student leaders [know] their duties.”
Currently, at Alabama State University, there is an SGA Constitution exam that is given to all of the candidates who run for office, but it is not an effective tool.  First, the exam is relatively easy, but what is more alarming, if the candidates do not pass the test, they are allowed to take it again. We respectfully ask, “Is that fair to the people who passed the exam the first time? Of course not.
Another HBCU facing similar problems is Grambling State University. According to the official student newspaper, The Gramblinite, students continue to witness a cycle in which certain elected representatives win based on flashy campaigns with no substance, yet time and time again, students continue to voice their frustrations about a lack of tangible progress.
Their SGA Constitution, which has a provision that is very similar to our SGA Constitution, clearly defines the purpose and structure of student governance, stating that it exists to “act as the official voice of the student body in matters concerning the administration and formulation of policies affecting student welfare” (Article I, Section 2). It further outlines the responsibilities of the SGA Senate, which include “drafting, proposing, and passing legislation that reflects the needs and concerns of the student body” (Article IV, Section 1).
The Gramblinite staff asked the question, “Where is this legislation? When was the last time we saw true student-centered policies enacted, not just symbolic gestures, but real initiatives passed through the legislative process and enforced?”
It continued, “The SGA Senate has the constitutional authority to introduce and pass bills that can directly influence student life, campus policies, and academic affairs. However, what we often see instead are event-driven initiatives, clean-ups, and giveaways that, while appreciated, do little to address systemic student concerns.”
Reading this article helped this editorial board to understand that our SGA is not the only SGA that has a systemic problem that is leading to the demise of SGAs. Things that should be given more attention, such as academic advisement reform, strengthening student support services, food services, international student inclusion, advocating for fair and transparent tuition and fees, improving faculty and administration accountability, enhancing alumni relations and post-graduate support and better housing are not adequately addressed.
These are the issues that need to be addressed during campaigns.. Instead of giveaways, how about giving solutions.
Because students are just one or two steps away from working in the real world, they are looking for good sound policy over student popularity. They would like to see new policies that improve the quality of student life on the campus.
For years, SGA has been full of talk of representation, transparency, accountability, diversity, equity and inclusion. Those ideas are — and need to be treated as — more than slogans and buzzwords to include in speeches.
Those who choose to serve in SGA need to take it seriously. It is not enough to show up at the meetings — and some do not even do that much. Serving in SGA is a commitment. If you are not willing to fulfill your duties and take an active role in serving your campus community, perhaps it is time to step aside and make room for someone who is.
If SGA as a group wants to be respected by the campus community — students, faculty and staff — they need to act respectfully. They need to follow the provisions that are outlined in the SGA Constition. Instead of focusing so much on activities and events, focus on creating policies that students can appreciate and understand. Conduct yourselves professionally and do more for students than just the bare minimum.
Senators need to understand that the Legislative branch is the most powerful and act as actual representatives of the constituencies that elected them.