By Robert Gigliotti, SGA executive board president
The Student Government Association is the voice of the student body of Saint Vincent College. Through the years, we have accomplished many projects and tasks around campus. Looking ahead to the future, we have many more in store. My hope is that we can get as many students involved with SGA as possible as we move forward.
I first joined SGA in the fall of 2018, my freshman year, as a class senator. I enjoyed the job then just as much as I do now. I was able to learn so much about the school each Sunday at the meetings. I always looked forward to the Sunday meetings as each week I saw how much SGA was truly involved with. Specifically, I was impressed with the reports from the weekly meetings with the president of the school, Student Affairs and the committees (Alumni, Academic Affairs, Dining, FMO, Public Safety and Residence Life). Since then we have added representatives to both IT and the bookstore as well! At the start of my sophomore year, I was asked to take over as the chair of the Public Safety Committee. I eagerly accepted the position and began bridging the communication gap between the student body and public safety each week. I enjoyed my time there, but I knew that I wanted to do more for the student body. With that in mind, I ran for the position of executive board treasurer and won. That job meant a lot to me due to the frequent and direct interactions I had with the clubs on campus. SGA provides funding for all of the clubs. Most of the funding is granted each semester after the club fills out a small application, and other funding is readily accessible. And clubs are always encouraged to petition SGA for more funding when they need it! After my term as treasurer, I ran for president and won. Since the start of my term in December, I have been working each week to communicate issues and concerns to the administration on behalf of the students, aiming to find possible solutions. We still meet every Sunday, though now via Zoom, and we have a strong SGA this semester. Between the hall representatives, senators, class executive spots, and the rest of the executive board, we have been working hard to still accomplish just as much, if not more, than we would in any other semester.
We’ve been able to achieve a great deal merely in my six semesters here. Each semester, SGA is required to go beyond our regular range of duties and take on a capital project. In the past few semesters, we have achieved or contributed to many common features of our campus. These include the black picnic benches around campus, phone charging stations, the window shades on the gym, the water bottle filling stations in the residence halls and more! Further back in time, SGA has been responsible for some of the larger features around campus, primarily the outdoor basketball court near St. Benedict Hall, as well as the Game Room next to the Shack. Now we are tasked with the maintenance of those projects, and we have some renovations planned! As we look into the future for projects and initiatives, we are optimistic about what we can accomplish this semester. First, on the large scale, we are planning to construct an outdoor beach volleyball court near the basketball court. Additionally, we are working with the administration to provide feedback for a revision of the Student Handbook. These are just some of the many projects that SGA has and plans to accomplish.
I want to encourage all of you to get involved with SGA in some capacity. First, an easy way for you to get involved and directly let your voice be heard is to fill out the SGA survey. I sent this out in an email earlier, and there will be reminders to come! In addition to letting your voice be heard, it’s an easy way for you to get a chance at winning a gift card to the bookstore! Beyond the survey, we are having elections for class positions (not overall executive board or representatives) on April 30. And always feel free to reach out directly to anyone you know on SGA! Voice your opinions, concerns and ideas. My hope is that next semester we can resume our office hours. Office hours are business hours for the SGA that allow you to come into the office and speak with us directly. Please never hesitate to reach out or get involved! We can do more on this campus than most people know, and we would love for you to be a larger part of those achievements. God bless, Bearcats.