Today: Nov 05, 2024

Student Government elections open to Southern undergrads

IvyLee Rosario – News Writer

The Student Government Association (SGA) at Southern is currently made up of 20 Representatives-at-Large, and has four positions up for election this semester.

The SGA tries its hardest to “serve as the voice of all undergraduate students, hereafter referred to as the student body and promote the welfare of the undergraduate student body,” according to the SGA web page.

“We have a lot of new programs happening in addition to bringing in new members. I’m really excited for the ‘Gear Up’ initiative, which are volunteers from campus with SGA going into New Haven communities and mentoring seventh graders,” said Erin McGuckin, 21, a senior elementary education major and the president of SGA for the 2012-2013 school year.

“Some of the students can actually continue being a part of the program all the way through high school and it gives them opportunities for scholarships to college. It’s a great way to give back to the community and reach out to potential students. It’s one of the new things that I find myself really excited for.”

SGA also has the “Smart Initiative,” which is a program in which the association gives away free computers to students from Southern. The process involves students applying for refurbished computers from the Information Technology (IT) department. Then members of the executive board go through each application—without looking at names to prevent bias—and choose a few students who they think would benefit the most from a new computer.

“I’ve never been through the process myself but I know they choose it in a way for there to be absolutely no bias towards any student because they don’t even know who the application belongs to until they have made the final decision,” said McGuckin.

With the election and inauguration coming up soon, the Student Government Association has plans to bring some awareness to campus about voting.

“We are very excited for the election to come up and we want to get the campus involved in such an important process,” said Nicole Cassidy, 22, an elementary and special education major and secretary of SGA.

“We also plan on using that as a time to officially welcome our new Student Government president. We have a new voice and a new perspective from her so I’m excited to see where it takes us.”

With all the upcoming programs SGA is planning, it seems like this year will be one of the best so far, according to Natalie Sabino, a senior organizational communications major who is the vice president of SGA.

“I’m really looking forward to this year, especially with the new president. I’m sure she will do an amazing job and has a bunch of great events planned for us,” said Sabino.

According to the new president, they will be having a lot of new diverse faces that will be a part of Student Government.

“We have such a great group full of diverse, wonderful people and we have such a great time. I know this semester, and the whole year is just going to be great and I’m so excited to see where we end up,” said McGuckin.

With all the initiatives they have planned it seems like Student Government will continue to keep their place on and off campus with the organization becoming more and more popular.

The association is planning not only events for the campus but also plans on maintaining their tradition of giving back to the community that surrounds Southern’s campus.

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