The Student Association Senate made a powerful statement Wednesday morning when it voted to remove President Phil Meisner.

Now the SA must prove that Meisner was the reason why the SA has been so chaotic and ineffective this year.

The SA must act with the same vigor and intensity in advocating for student’s issues as it did in its impeachment and removal of Meisner. Otherwise, a dangerous precedent will have been set.

The drama and circus-like atmosphere of the impeachment trial is over, and the real business of the SA must commence. The SA needs to change its image as the organization that doles out funds to student groups but accomplishes little else.

The average GW student doesn’t know what the SA does, and for good reason. The SA can’t get past the internal bickering that has too often rendered the organization useless.

For instance, the SA has not revised the Academic Update – the SA’s online guide to GW courses – since the spring semester of 1998. Even worse, the SA doesn’t plan to revise the Academic Update until the spring semester of 2000. There is no excuse for this sort of conduct. The Academic Update is a useful service that truly assists students. It’s something tangible – an aid that students can use.

The new executive administration should prove its worthiness to the student body as soon as possible. The SA must strive to serve the desires of the students. The organization cannot stay introverted and expect respect from the GW community. Now that the supposed source of the SA’s problems, President Meisner, has been removed, the SA must move onto its real business – serving students.

Out of the ashes of the Meisner debacle, the SA must build an organization focused on student advocacy. The students of GW need a voice, and the new executive administration has a golden opportunity to be that voice.

Removing Meisner was a daring and unprecedented move. Now that this lamentable episode has concluded, the SA must be just as daring and vigorous in its student advocacy.