SGA Scoop

Sarah Green — Copy Editor

This semester, Southern’s Student Government Association wants to truly connect with students all across campus. In order to do this, it’s important that all of the undergraduate students know who their representatives actually are! So let’s meet your Student Government Executive Board for the 2011-2012 school year:

President, Jennifer Haddad

“Madam President,” (as Jen was quickly nicknamed), is 21-years-old and has high hopes for Student Government this year. 

“My goals for SGA this year are to expand on a lot of the great ideas we came up with last year,” Jen said.  “SGA came up with a lot of great campus beautification ideas that can be carried out this year.” 

A secondary education and history major, Jen is entering her senior year.  Her main focus as president this year will be to make sure that Student Government’s goals are realistic – goals that can be fulfilled immediately rather than “put on a back burner.”  Jen is very excited to work with all of the organizations on campus. 

“I am also hoping that we can increase club collaboration through the cluster system,” she said. 

The cluster system began last spring, but it seems the program will be even more successful this semester.  Clubs and organizations were given the preset cluster meeting dates during the summer Leadership Retreat, and the Office of Student Life is planning to more strictly enforce clubs’ attendance.  After all, the whole purpose of clusters is to bring like-minded organizations together so they can build each other up and work together more.  Plus, clusters may allow smaller organizations to join forces and host larger events.

Jen has worked as a tour guide on campus and as the assistant director of Crystal Lake Camp.  Like many college students, she enjoys the warm weather and spending time at the beach.  This semester, Jen is most excited about attending conferences and being a part of more university committees.

Vice President, Patrick O’Connor

SGA’s “second-in-command” this semester is Pat O’Connor, aka O’College.  Last year, Pat served as treasurer and the chair of the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee (SAFAC).  He is very excited to assume this new position and hopes to work closely with Jen to ensure that SGA meets its goals. 

“It’s about quality, not quantity,” Pat said at the recent Student Government retreat.

Pat is also entering his senior year as a sociology major with minors in criminal justice and political science.  His ultimate goal is to become a police officer.

Outside of Student Government, Pat was an Orientation Ambassador and captain of the Men’s Rugby Team.

Secretary, Bethany Tuller

Bethany Tuller, 21, is also a very active member in the SCSU community.  A senior journalism major, Bethany has served as a member of the Orientation Staff for the past two summers.  During the regular semester she is a Peer Mentor and the president of the Society of Professional Journalists.  Beth has also been actively involved with WSIN and currently serves as the Online Editor for the Southern News. 

Beth is hoping that Student Government will attend more events than ever before – and encourage other clubs and organizations to do the same. 

“This year, I want students to really get involved with campus activities, events and service projects,” she said.  “Students in clubs and organizations, Greek Life and sports teams put in a lot of time and effort, and I think we have the opportunity to change the campus culture.” 

Beth’s main focus this semester will be getting the student body excited about what is happening at Southern.

In her spare time, Beth enjoys hanging out with friends, shopping and cooking.  She is most excited about the arrival of “Pumpkin-flavored things at Dunkin Donuts” – and the Club Fair. 

Treasurer, Brian Pedalino

Brian “Bronco” Pedalino is a junior biology major.  This year he will be serving as not only the treasurer of Student Government, but also as the chair of SAFAC.

Prior to the beginning of the semester, Brian began working on a standardized form for SAFAC.  He hopes that by creating a submission form, the entire process of applying for funds will be streamlined.  In this manner, Brian hopes to make it much easier for clubs and organizations to receive the money they need to put on awesome events.

Brian has also been actively involved in the CIAO Italian Club on campus.  Last year, he was one of SGA’s representatives to the university Food Service committee and helped to plan the Friday Night Free for All activities.  He hopes to continue participating on these committees, as well as the Parking Appeals Committee so that he can ensure that students’ voices are heard.

The Executive Board is excited to begin working to meet student needs and address students’ concerns this semester.  Do not hesitate to contact Jen, Pat, Bethany, or Brian – or any of the other Student Government representatives – if there is some way that they can help to better your experience here at Southern.