November 1, 1999
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Our Opinion

Crumbling SGA needs structure and leadership

Editorial Board:
"Our Opinion" reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board. The editorial board is made up of Joe Harris, editor-in-chief, and Ken Dunkin, managing editor.

The Issue:
Darwin Butler, SGA president, was jailed last week and thus violated his work release and is to remain in jail until November 4 when there will be another hearing decide revocation of his work release. While this is happens, the SGA is getting less and less accomplished.

We Suggest:
The sensible thing for Butler to do is to step down from his position of SGA president. By doing so, he would free up some much-needed time to hold the special elections for SGA. This would get permanent officers in SGA and allow them to start working on more pressing matters.

So What Do You Think?
Write a letter to the editor about this issue or anything else that's on your mind!

The administration of the Student Government Association president, Darwin Butler, recently fell to a new low point when Butler failed to attend both the Senate meeting and his own SGA meeting. The excuse? Butler was in jail.

Butler's work release was temporarily revoked Thursday, pending another hearing on Nov. 4. The State asked for the work release to be revoked because Butler was allegedly caught driving on a suspended license, which violated his work release provision.

Butler was sentenced to jail time so he could think about what he did. He was granted a work release to change his life around. Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody deserves a second chance. Butler has had lots of second chances, but he continues to violate the law.

While Butler sits in jail waiting for the St. Louis county justice department to determine whether or not they will indefinitely revoke his work release, the SGA continues to crumble. It is time for Butler to act like a true leader and put the SGA and UM-St. Louis before his own self-interests.

The time has come for Butler to either resign or be impeached from the SGA presidency.

Butler's lack of attendance at important University meetings has hurt the student body. Now, because of the uncertainty that Butler will have his work release reinstated, UM-St. Louis may not get a voice in who will become the next University of Missouri student curator. The meeting is this weekend in Columbia, and Butler is the only one, by virtue of his position, who can represent the University.

This is the latest in the long line of incompetence that the SGA has shown this year. Earlier this semester the "President's Initiative," a nation-wide program, was canceled on the UM-St. Louis campus by the SGA; the election committee has to be disbanded and reformed because of lack of results; and now UM-St. Louis may not get a voice in who the next student curator is.

Butler is quick to say students must demand more from the University because of the fees we are charged. Actually, it is time for the students to demand more from the SGA.

The incompetence has to stop. This administration needs to come to an end.

The classy thing that Butler could do would be for him to resign as SGA president. Unfortunately, this is highly unlikely.

This leaves us, the students, with no other choice but impeachment.