For the first time in years, the Student Government Association (SGA) has a full Senate, with all seats filled across all schools.
Since COVID, the Senate has generally been filled to roughly two-thirds capacity. Facing similar continuity problems to many other student organizations in the wake of the pandemic, fewer students were interested in serving, while the size of the Senate was in constant flux. One of SGA President Nicholas Smith’s main goals for his administration was to bring the SGA to its full capacity and make its races more competitive.
To do so, he created an Assistant Vice President of Recruiting (AVPR) position, which was filled by Riyana Phadke. Although efforts were made in the Spring 2024 semester, such as by sending SGA officials to visit first-year CAL 105 classes to drum up interest, the true payoff didn’t come until this semester, when enough students ran for Senate to make its elections competitive for the first time since 2020. AVPR Phadke is ecstatic with the new Senate, saying that she is “excited to see a wider range of opinions, as we have students from all different backgrounds” and is “happy that we’re getting more representation across all the schools.”
A majority of the Senators elected are new to the SGA. Furthermore, a majority of the new members are first-year students with plenty of new ideas. In recent years, the makeup of the Senate has been grouped and decided on by each school. The biggest school is the School of Engineering and Sciences, so it proportionally has the most number of senators, followed by the School of Business and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. While senators used to be voted on by class year, the transition was made in 2023 to simplify the organization, give students better representation, and encourage greater turnout from the smaller schools, which has worked effectively.
To deal with this influx, the SGA committees created set goals, plans, and metrics for the coming semester, including several recent and upcoming committee initiatives.
The Academic Affairs committee, headed by Vice-President of Academic Affairs Erin McGee and Senate Chair Dalia Abbad, will be focusing on equality within academics, student faculty interaction, and undergraduate research. Some action items you will be able to see are an upcoming Academic Affairs Town Hall, the Take Your Professor Out program, and a Research Symposium.
The Budget Committee, headed by Vice President of Finance Kevin Pfundstein, will be continuing its work of distributing the recently raised Student Activity Fee, as well as improving the Student Fiscal Experience. One tangible result of this has been the reintroduction of the availability of food for all organizations’ general body meetings (GBMs).
The Campus Wellness Committee, headed by Senate Chair Angelo Naro, will be improving dining, campus culture, morale, and mental health, physical health, and sustainability. This will take the form of monthly dining committee meetings, a pop-up thrift store, and reusable dining containers.
The Rules Committee, headed by Senate Chair Tanya Avadia, will be continuing its work reviewing club constitutions and working closely with new organizations to craft their constitutions. Look out for a Kahoot on SGA Governing Docs.
The Government & Community committee, headed by Senate Chair Evan Penerias, will be working on civic engagement, community service, and community leadership building. This includes a Food Drive, a forum with the Hoboken City Council, and a presidential election watch party.
Aside from these, there are other committees, and many more initiatives planned to take place this semester. From a continued focus on diversity and inclusion, to pushing for a greater student voice at higher levels of administration, the SGA will have its hands full this semester.
