Contrary to the belief of Gary Stittgen, Student Association Internal Affairs Committee member, a name change is not “the only change left” needed to resurrect the Student Committee on Political Action’s respectability and accountability.

Unfortunately, SCOPA needs more than just a surface name change, and IAC members should keep this in mind while they spend their time debating semantics and syntax, deciding when the new name should be presented to the senate and determining how the proposals should be introduced.

Such time would be better spent establishing a firm set of guidelines for the renegade committee’s purpose and function if the SA is indeed committed to starting out with “fresh credibility” as SA Vice President Gregg Bliss proposes.

Creating a new image to foster credibility merely begins with the creation of a new label for SCOPA.

Whatever the senate decides to rename the committee will be only as effective as the perceptions, values and ideals of the committee that are established and enforced by the senators and committee members. SCOPA will remain SCOPA, regardless of any change in name, if the committee’s old practices are allowed to continue.

The new title chosen to rename SCOPA will indeed set the tone for the public’s and the SA’s expectations of the committee, and IAC members’ concerns in choosing the most appropriate wording are warranted.

But so much time must not be spent haggling over word choice that the senators forget the reason such alterations are needed. After all, a SCOPA by any other name…