Complaints of “career politicians” who spend more time electioneering than addressing the needs of their constituents, less than half of eligible voters even bothering to voter in elections, mostly uncompetitive races with nary a hint of opposition.

The similarities between the United States Congress and the University of Georgia’s Student Government Association could go on for a while.

While I would have preferred if SGA had gone on hiatus to be replaced by a more effective organization, I do not want to see it die a slow, painful death over the next four years, since there are many realistic goals SGA has the power to accomplish.

As a concerned student who simply wants the best for the University, I offer these three objectives that not only can, but should, be accomplished within the next year:

1. Saving the School of Public and International Affairs. Ballooning class sizes, a heavy reliance on graduate student teaching even in upper level classes and a class selection lottery with odds worse than winning the Powerball all threaten to undermine the academic integrity of one of the University’s finest schools.

As SPIA majors such as myself, I hope President Katie Bowers and Vice-President Ali Gibbons will marshal all of SGA’s resources toward addressing this crucial issue.

Implementing a high-demand major policy for SPIA’s two majors already has much student support, so the onus now is on SGA to effectively represent the students by convincing the University administration to act.

2. Protecting academic freedom on campus. This is an issue SGA, with its many political science majors, should be well-equipped to handle.

A tangible goal to safeguard free expression on campus would be working to raise the University’s “speech code” rating by the nonpartisan Foundation for Individual Rights in Education from a “yellow light” to a “green light.”

By revising vague policies and clearly spelling out students’ and professors’ constitutional rights on campus, SGA could protect the right to free expression at the University.

3. Fully funding need-based financial aid. As of now, the average percentage of financial need met is only 78 percent and less than 38 percent of needy students receive all their needed aid.

Georgia Tech and Emory recently have dedicated new programs that would enable all their students in need to graduate without debt. We cannot allow our university to be left behind.

Lobbying the state legislature, assisting in fundraising and finding new sources of revenue all should be priorities of the incoming SGA administration.

The SGA elections committee took a bold step toward a new era of SGA by overturning the ratification of a new SGA constitution because it lacked the required 10 percent vote. In this case, regardless of the merits of the new constitution, the checks and balances SGA established to ensure fairness worked.

With an atmosphere of accountability established, the incoming SGA administration now should focus on rectifying the problems in SPIA, improving the University’s policies on free expression and obtaining full funding for need-based scholarships.

Advocacy will not suffice; the student body deserves results. If SGA cannot deliver, I propose we turn away from the model of the legislative world and embrace the corporate shareholder mentality instead.

After all, had the last election been conducted like a typical corporate shareholders meeting in which “not voting” is the same as a “no” vote, apathy finally would have resulted in action.

- Chris Chiego is a sophomore from Memphis, Tenn. majoring in history and international affairs