2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
SA deceived students with Third B petition
Issue date: 4/5/05 Section: Opinion & Editorial
- Page 1 of 1
In the March 22 issue of the Collegian, it said that people who disagreed with the Students' Association's (SA) decision to not turn in the petition to refer the Third B tax to a vote misunderstood what the petition's purpose was.
This is not true.
I understand that the SA felt that obtaining a mere 10% of the profits from this tax was a great deal, even though college students account for more than 10% of the Brookings population, even though college students are going to pay out a lot more than $35,000 with the tax. True, it's our decision to eat out, so maybe we deserve this tax. How would I know?
What I do know, is that when I went into the SA office to sign that petition, I was under the impression that it would be taken to a vote. That is what the senators present said that it was for. The senators never bothered to say, "Hey, if the city will give us the $35,000 originally slated, then we're not going to turn over the petition." Of course, that would have been forthright and honest. While I was in the SA Office, another petition was thrust into my hand, and one of the senators snapped, "Here, sign this, too," belittling my intelligence and my judgment by not bothering to mention what the petition was for. It turned out that the petition was to get Amanda Mattingly on the ballot for Brookings City Council. My friend asked Ms. Mattingly why we should sign the petition, and the senator, not Ms. Mattingly, replied, "Because she's going to fight the Third B tax."
Good job fighting the Third B tax, Ms. Mattingly.
The point of this, is that I don't appreciate being lied to and disrespected by the SA. To me, that's what all this is about. If they had been up front about how they planned to use the petition, as a tool for obtaining the $35,000, and if I hadn't been treated disrespectfully in the SA office, I would be okay with this.
The Students' Association needs to realize that they are elected representatives of the student body. They are not higher or more supreme than anyone else. They should listen to and represent the students. They should treat fellow students with respect; after all, we are the ones that voted them in. If some members of the SA continue to lie and treat students disrespectfully, I would say that they are on their way to becoming successful politicians, and I wish them the best of luck.
Amanda George
Graphic Design
This is not true.
I understand that the SA felt that obtaining a mere 10% of the profits from this tax was a great deal, even though college students account for more than 10% of the Brookings population, even though college students are going to pay out a lot more than $35,000 with the tax. True, it's our decision to eat out, so maybe we deserve this tax. How would I know?
What I do know, is that when I went into the SA office to sign that petition, I was under the impression that it would be taken to a vote. That is what the senators present said that it was for. The senators never bothered to say, "Hey, if the city will give us the $35,000 originally slated, then we're not going to turn over the petition." Of course, that would have been forthright and honest. While I was in the SA Office, another petition was thrust into my hand, and one of the senators snapped, "Here, sign this, too," belittling my intelligence and my judgment by not bothering to mention what the petition was for. It turned out that the petition was to get Amanda Mattingly on the ballot for Brookings City Council. My friend asked Ms. Mattingly why we should sign the petition, and the senator, not Ms. Mattingly, replied, "Because she's going to fight the Third B tax."
Good job fighting the Third B tax, Ms. Mattingly.
The point of this, is that I don't appreciate being lied to and disrespected by the SA. To me, that's what all this is about. If they had been up front about how they planned to use the petition, as a tool for obtaining the $35,000, and if I hadn't been treated disrespectfully in the SA office, I would be okay with this.
The Students' Association needs to realize that they are elected representatives of the student body. They are not higher or more supreme than anyone else. They should listen to and represent the students. They should treat fellow students with respect; after all, we are the ones that voted them in. If some members of the SA continue to lie and treat students disrespectfully, I would say that they are on their way to becoming successful politicians, and I wish them the best of luck.
Amanda George
Graphic Design