One of the biggest problems The News has found with Student Government Association (SGA) is the inability of its members to take criticism. Time after time, the current student body president, Ryan Fox, has been overly defensive when stances and decisions that have been made within the group were questioned. While SGA members should stand behind their policy, they must be receptive to criticism and acknowledge what needs improvement.

A prime example of this was at the debate on Tuesday night. During the question and answer session, Fox took the opportunity to criticize both candidates, Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Sabo and Executive Vice President Sean Maloney, for throwing SGA members “under a bus” during the debate instead of defending their decisions on Senate affairs.

Whoever is elected to take over for Fox should look at incidents like this and ensure they don’t fall into the same pattern of behavior.

SGA has made improvements to the student body – laundry dollars, 24-hour access to Snell Library, more places we can use our meal plans – these are things that most students acknowledge and appreciate. But there are things students are unhappy with too, and that’s normal.

In a real democracy, public officials are meant to work for the people – not against them. There is no such thing as perfection, especially in government, and the next president of SGA would do well to recognize this. He should acknowledge criticism, and then act on it. SGA could be 10 times more effective if members worked with the students instead of in spite of them.

Last week, The News ran an article about Fox alienating the leaders of four major student groups on campus because of his inability to compromise. In instances when Fox disagrees with statements made by The News, he rarely responds in a way that students have access to, or that may open a forum for discussion, such as a letter to the editor, which other presidents have done in the past. Instead, he chooses to defend his point behind closed doors.

During Fox’s term, there have been some really great developments for the student body, but his achievements are hindered by the fact that he can’t handle constructive criticism. A successful leader studies the strengths and weaknesses of his predecessors and is careful to use this information to his advantage. Whether our next student body president is Sabo, Maloney, or anyone else, he would benefit by doing the same. The students will appreciate it.