<p>[SGA</a> President Grant Cochran resigns | The Crimson White](<a href=“http://cw.ua.edu/2011/09/24/sga-president-grant-cochran-resigns/]SGA”>http://cw.ua.edu/2011/09/24/sga-president-grant-cochran-resigns/)</p>
<p>Man, did I pick a terrible morning to sleep in…</p>
<p>Can someone fill me in on the issues with SGA?</p>
<p>This came out of nowhere (at least for me). It seems there’s a scandal brewing over the application process for the First Year Council. FYC serves as an introductory SGA Senate for freshman and other first-year student. It’s basically requisite to have any chance of serving in the SGA as an upperclassman. There were questions about “fixes” about the application process and the SGA officer in charge of FYC resigned earlier this week. This must have gone all the way to the top for Grant to resign. I know Grant semi-personally, so I’m a bit dismayed at this turn of events. He wasn’t your typical “Machine” president. SGA presidents have gotten into bigger trouble and survived. In fact, his non-traditional roots may have been the reason he wasn’t able to withstand the pressure to resign.</p>
<p>I knew about the FYC director’s resignation - there was an article in the Crimson White about it. I’ve also read article after article about the SOS controversy.</p>
<p>What I’m curious about is the history here. The UA Wikipedia page has an entry about the “machine” and mentions a 1992 Time Magazine issue that exposed it.</p>
<p>It was actually an Esquire magazine article titled “The Most Powerful Fraternity in America”. Well not so much an article. More a hit piece on white greeks at UA. No doubt it made the GDI’s that populate the CW moist.</p>
<p>You can read the trash here.
<a href=“http://www.welcometothemachine.info/pdf/esquire.pdf[/url]”>http://www.welcometothemachine.info/pdf/esquire.pdf</a></p>
<p>wow. can’t imagine the chaos that caused. fascinating and disturbing.</p>