We took notice of the Texas State University Student Government Supreme Court decision not to impeach Student Body President Connor Clegg, and we will not comment on that specific decision at the moment as an appeal might still be considered.
Nevertheless, the events of the last months have revealed some dysfunctions and several structural issues within Student Government. We feel that multiple branches have lost the trust of a significant portion of the student body and are not fulfilling their duties as representatives of the students. Moreover, we believe that the president is granted an excessive amount of power, leading to a weak separation of powers. Indeed, the president has the ability to veto any legislation passed in the House or the Senate, appoints Supreme Court Justices, and can play a role in filling vacant seats in the Senate (currently 22 Senators out of 41, including 3 Senators serving in the Cabinet, appear to not have been elected during regular elections). We are also disturbed by the excessive absences of many senators and the failure to uphold the Senate attendance policy. These dysfunctions and structural issues are the instances that lead students to feel unheard, unrepresented, and lose trust with the role of Student Government on campus.
Furthermore, we were troubled by some remarks made by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Garcia, reported by The University Star. Garcia said, “Just because something is morally wrong, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s against the rules… We can agree with these people and these sentiments that maybe this isn’t the best course of action that could have happened but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s illegal and he should be impeached for it.” We refuse to see the lives of Texas State students be guided by such a statement. If doing something morally wrong is not against the rules, then we must change the rules. If choosing to represent only those who voted for you and not the entire student body is not against the rules, then we must change the rules. If disregarding and disrespecting the opinion of a significant portion of the student body is not against the rules then we must change the rules. If representatives cannot be held accountable for their actions because the rules are too imprecise, then we must change the rules.
We are committed to making Student Government better by increasing the accountability among representatives and by striving to represent all students at Texas State University. We will take the necessary actions to amend the Student Government Constitution and code in order to ensure the organization properly serves the student body, and we invite anyone who would like to participate in this process to get in touch with us.
The opinions expressed in this letter belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Graduate House, Student Government, or Texas State University.
Maël Le Noc,
Graduate House Leader
Amarillis M. Castillo,
Graduate House Representative
Brittany Davis,
Graduate House Representative
Blair Didion Sr.,
Graduate House Representative
Anthony Gallardo,
Graduate House Representative
Kelly Gourluck,
Graduate House Representative
Jennifer Idema,
Graduate House Representative
Jessica Ramos-Karmaker,
Graduate House Representative