Much has happened this year for the SGA. It hosted many events to raise awareness and funds for a variety of groups, implemented plans for the future and also had its first black president elected in decades.
“My year in Senate, it was really interesting to see a lot of folks coming together,” Senator Patrick Fitzgerald said. “I liked how Drew Cicero was able to pass legislation for mandating Safe Zone training for all members of the SGA, for us to lend a hand of inclusion to the LGBT community.”
In addition to Safe Zone training, the SGA also started initiatives such as the plan to introduce free online educational resources, proposed by former Speaker of the Senate and current Vice President of Student Affairs Branden Greenberg.
“I think we did a lot of good stuff this year,” he said. “We laid a lot of the groundwork for programs.”
President Elliot Spillers ran on a platform of creating programs to prevent sexual assault and provide educational training to help prevent suicides. In the future, students can look for these issues to become focal points for executive officers and senators alike.
Last week the Senate passed an act approving funding for a suicide prevention training program on campus. Programs like these will only grow in number, increasing the community’s safety.
In the past few Senate meetings, there has been disagreement on who will become the next chief of staff. SGA members say they believe it will eventually be sorted out.
“I think we’ve got a great chance, a whole new batch of senators, a whole new batch of minds,” Fitzgerald said. “I hope we’re able to get the nitty gritty out of the way early.”
Members said they plan to serve and benefit the student body in the upcoming year.
“We were elected to work for the students,” Senator Hunter Richey said. “We weren’t elected to sit here and stall for two weeks. I’m really hoping we can get the ball rolling and start getting things done.”
