Not content with living in the shadow of the Student Association Senate, Adam Sherlip, speaker of the SA Assembly, says he is doing everything in his power to boost the responsibility and relevance of the SA Assembly in his second semester as speaker.
"I think I've made more out of it than any Assembly speaker has," said Sherlip, a sophomore management major. "I've learned to stretch the SA Constitution without overstepping my boundaries."
The SA Constitution divides political power as the U.S. Constitution does: an executive, legislative and judicial branch, with the legislative branch broken up into a Senate and an Assembly.
Traditionally, the SA Assembly, like the United States House of Representatives, is the less prestigious of the two legislative bodies.
The Senate is solely responsible for the critical issue of money allocation, and senators are directly elected by the students -- unlike Assembly members, who need only gather signatures on petitions.
Sherlip said the road out from obscurity has been filled with obstacles, but he is proud of the work he has accomplished last semester and has high hopes for the Assembly this semester.
Sherlip Shakes Things Up
According to Sherlip, the creation of the Executive Review Committee ranks at the top of his tenure's accomplishments.
"I think my results speak for themselves, but I'm most proud of the committees, especially the executive review committee," Sherlip said.
The committee was instituted last semester within the Assembly to act as a check on the executive board, which consists of SA President George Pape, Vice President Jocelyn Tejeda and Treasurer Anthony Burgio.
Executive board members initially resisted the idea, according to Sherlip.
"They were unreceptive at first," said Sherlip. "But they've been cooperative since."
Sherlip said the review committee has been a long time coming.
"The students deserve it and have been uninformed for so long. It's not fair to them," said Sherlip.
While he praised the executive board for cooperating with the review committee, Sherlip sharply criticized the Senate for failing to work with him.
"(The SA Senate has) pretty much been against me, whether they mean it or not," said Sherlip. "I think there's a general feeling of politics, and when someone's working hard there's a little resentment."
With SA elections approaching this spring, Sherlip is still uncertain as to what his next move will be. He said he may run for SA President, but concedes that SA Treasurer Anthony Burgio, if he in fact he decides to run, would be the front-runner.
"Burgio has the strongest background of anybody who may or may not run," Sherlip said.
The Assembly's Next Generation
While Senate members need to be elected, Assembly members need only to complete a petition, which includes obtaining at least 40 student signatures.
One student who said she plans on taking the first step into UB politics this semester is sophomore psychology major Tangier Harper.
"I just wanted to get involved," said Harper, who recently completed her SA Assembly petition with plans of joining this spring. "There's a lot of hear-say about what's going on - about the integrity of government. I just want to see it for myself."
Harper said she is joining to observe the nuances of college politics and to be an active member of the Assembly, but her eventual goal is to be a senator.
Petitions for this spring semester are still available in the SA office (350 Student Union). They are due Feb. 2.
The first SA Assembly meeting of the semester is Feb.9.
Looking forward to next year, Sherlip said the speaker's position will be in good hands.
"I've got some strong people in my rules committee. Some may know how to surpass my abilities," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
