Our coverage of SGA has been relentless these past few years, covering every aspect of the office from new programs to complicated constitutional mores. Doing so required several readings of the SGA Constitution, the only thing that remains consistent from one year to the next. Never in one of these readings did we realize that the words “maintenance fees” translate roughly into “tuition.”

In short, Article IV, Section 13 of the SGA constitution reads, “The elected Executive Council officers shall receive their books on a loan basis and maintenance fees at the beginning of each semester.” The history of this paragraph is uncertain, as SGA records are largely incomplete.

The only concern brought to the forefront this week is whether it was appropriate for SGA President James Orr to request his summer fees be paid from the SGA budget.

Even though the specific request may have been unprecedented, he certainly had history on his side in doing so.

We’d always guessed that the officers received more than just books and a stipend. Meal tickets and staff parking stickers aren’t itemized either, but we know they too are issued at little or no charge. If their tuition was to be paid, we supposed it would be nothing more than a good faith gesture to keep a renegade SGA on the good side of the administration. Some school officials say that this has been in practice for almost 25 years.

Even the executive editor of this newspaper receives certain perks of his or her job. Among them are rights to a staff parking sticker (paid by the student editor) and a complimentary 16-meal plan from Sodexho (not assessed to the newspaper’s ledger.) The practice extends beyond the SGA and The Pacer, with certain other higher-ups in Student Life receiving perks.

But hardworking students deserve a little extra, right? We agree only to the point where full, clear and concise disclosure occurs. So let the president, vice president and secretary general continue to receive their tuition, books and small stipend. All we ask is that these benefits be clarified in the SGA constitution to someone without a full understanding of higher education terminology.

We call upon the SGA Senate to propose and pass legislation to alter the wording to clarify the full benefits of our elected student leaders.