SARAH GREEN — Copy Editor
Two weeks before most students ordered their books or began packing their bags to return to the residence halls, SCSU’s Student Government Association (SGA) met to begin planning for the fall semester. Under the leadership of their new president, Jen Haddad, the Representatives-at-Large (RALs) for the 2011-’12 school year face a series of new challenges.
Currently, many administrative positions on Southern’s campus are filled by interim faculty members, and the university is facing up to a 27 percent budget reduction from 2009. During these tough financial times, the members of SGA are determined to make sure the students are kept at the center of the equation.
One of the first topics of discussion during SGA’s summer meeting was the presidential search. The RALs have a fairly clear conception of what they believe Southern needs in a new president. Besides experience in educational administration, the RALs want a president who has a willingness to work with students and hear their concerns. The SGA members agreed that this individual should be passionate about public higher education and looking to commit for five or more years. At the same time, SGA hopes the new president will understand the importance of balancing both educational and student affairs, and will value FYE and other similar programs.
Additionally, the SGA members have already begun to develop many new goals and priorities for the fall semester. One of the first tasks on their agenda will be recruitment. The RALs hope that many new (and returning) students with innovative ideas or pressing issues will show up at their first meeting in Engleman B121 at 1:10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9. This semester, the SGA’s biggest priority is ensuring that Southern students’ experiences on campus are as rewarding as possible.
You should be seeing more SGA members at campus events too. One of their main goals this year is to support other clubs and organizations at Southern by attending their events and helping out whenever possible. With the help of staff members from the Office of Student Life, SGA will be hosting “Cluster” meetings for related clubs and organizations to communicate about what they are doing and potentially foster interclub collaboration on campus events.
This semester, SGA’s Board of Constitutional Review will be working with established clubs and organizations whose constitutions are in need of updates while also assisting any students who wish to establish new groups at Southern.
The Board of Finance (BOF) will be incorporating an exciting new feature to its usual work as well. This semester, any clubs and organizations that receive funding for conferences or other trips will be asked to attend a “post-funding forum” to exhibit what they gained from their experiences. The BOF will hopefully be streamlining the application process for funding as well by creating a standardized application form. BOF Chairman Bob Benway has already begun working with SAFAC on this form.
If you know of any way in which Student Government might be able to help make students’ experiences here on campus better this semester, do not hesitate to contact us. We are very excited about the start of the new semester. Remember, our door is always open; so come and visit! ASC Room 222.
I think SGA should focus more on getting more people involve and even more inclusive instead of being more cliquish. It’s the Clique mentality that drives people away from campus involvement.. As I see it, SGA and most clubs on campus are very cliquish and have the clique mentality.