Representing students

Temple Student Government will be finalizing the details for its 36-seat parliament this week.

TSG Student Body President Aron Cowen proposed the parliamentary system when his ticket Empower TU ran for office last spring. Some of his opponents at the time claimed the new system couldn’t be fully representative of the university’s student body and that too much time would be needed to adjust to the system.

While an adjustment  period seems natural for any worthwhile initiative, The Temple News shares concerns that the parliament in its current state may not be equipped to represent the student body.

Currently, only two seats have been allocated to multicultural organizations, like the Black Student Union, Hillel and ROTC.

It doesn’t seem as though two seats will be nearly enough to represent all faiths, ethnicities and affinity groups on campus.

“The thinking is more along the lines of, ‘Let’s at least make sure they have two seats,’” Cowen said.

It would also make more sense for the ROTC to have its own seat apart from multicultural organizations, just as the Residence Hall Association and Greek Life do.

Kelly Dawson, vice president of TSG, said ROTC is among the groups on campus that TSG would consider giving its own individual seat in the future.

“You learn by doing,” Cowen said. “We’ll make modifications as we go.”

We find it reassuring to know TSG leaders have acknowledged concerns about the setup of the parliament and are willing to make changes to it in the future. It’s expected that there will be some initial kinks to work out when a bold change like the parliamentary system is instituted. We’re glad leaders are listening to concerns that have been raised.