Rethink Parliament

Before Spring 2018, three people resigned from Parliament’s 37-seat representative body, leaving three vacancies.

This is just the latest development in the saga of conflicts for this organization, which is Temple Student Government’s legislative branch. Disagreements have ranged from impeachment hearings to battles with the Executive Branch.

It’s clear that, after three students resigned during winter break, the organization isn’t achieving its goal to “advocate for the voices of all perspectives,” as the description on its website states.

Former senior representative Adam Frick is one of the members who resigned because of a scheduling conflict. But overall, he said Parliament was a “waste of time.”

“It seemed like anything we did accomplish could have been done without Parliament,” Frick told The Temple News.

It is discouraging that a former representative has this attitude, but Parliament hasn’t accomplished enough for us to disagree.

Parliament representatives want to create impactful policies for the students they represent. But the disagreement within this body — which ultimately led to impeachment hearings and resignations — wasted time that could have been used for more effective purposes.

And even when Parliament actually passed resolutions, no leaders could explain how they would be implemented so actual change can be enacted.

At this point, if Parliament’s own representatives are no longer on board with its mission, it might be time to consider an alternative that’s not a “waste of time.”

Temple is a diverse institution, and it’s crucial that all students are represented. But TSG leaders need to seriously consider Parliament’s efficacy and consider new ways to engage students, instead of continuing to allow Parliament to ineffectively battle it out.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this editorial misstated the number of Parliament members who resigned. The editorial has been updated to reflect the correct number.