Throughout this week, hopeful Student Government Association (SGA) senate candidates have been moving around campus campaigning for your vote. Each candidate has been sharing who they are, what experiences they have, and how they want to contribute to improving the campus experience through the SGA.
If you are unfamiliar with the SGA, it is important to note that the SGA oversees or is actively involved in most student activity across campus. Leading the SGA are the President, the Vice President of Operations, and the rest of the cabinet who are selected by those in the first two positions. The SGA is made up of several committees, including campus wellness, budget, oversight, academic affairs, government and community, rules, and diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility. The senators from the different schools are divided into these different committees with each senator placed into two of them. However, senators are allowed to contribute to any of the other committees as well if they are interested in issues or improvements in any of them.
In an SGA report released to the student body on September 6 by Nick Smith, current SGA president, the goals, values, and accomplishments of the association were presented. In this report, the SGA states its core values revolve around being inclusive leaders, being deeply kind, being empowerers of change, and being personally impactful. In upholding these values, the SGA has taken actions to improve the student experience by raising student activity funding by 41% over a two year period. The SGA oversees over 100 student organizations, and their goal is to “empower our diverse student body to shape the direction of student activities and campus culture.” In addition to this, the SGA has taken action recently to reclaim the Gateway North Building for student activities with the intention of creating a more inclusive campus. In an effort to connect faculty and students, they also launched “Take Your Professor Out” (TYPO). This program allows students who want to learn more about a professor the ability to apply for a Pi Kitchen voucher and share a meal with the professor. One of the most recent programs made possible by the SGA just last semester is Feed the Flock. This program, expected to be relaunched for the Fall semester on October 1, includes a meal swipe donation system where students who have extra swipes can donate them to the program. These swipes can be given to students who have run out of swipes so that they can still have a nourishing meal.
Now, as it happens each year, the SGA is holding elections to determine who will be responsible for continuing the efforts of the association. The election process began last week when the intent to run form was opened. The form included selecting what school one belonged to as well as a section allowing the candidate to explain why they were interested in becoming a senator. These responses were presented on the student body voting form so that voters could become familiar with each student running for senator. Previously, each nominee would also have to get 75 signatures from other students in order to move on to elections, but in the current election process, that stage has been removed. To be elected into a senator position, a candidate needs to receive enough votes for at least 2.5% of the specific school’s population. The election ends this Sunday September 22, so if you have not voted yet and would like to support a candidate, there is still time. A celebration to welcome the new senators will be held Sunday at 7 p.m. during the weekly SGA senate meeting following the close of elections.
