From Esha Shah,
Whether you know what the Student Government Association at UD (SGA) does or know someone within the organization, one thing is clear, SGA is here to voice and represent your concerns as members of the student body.
Executive cabinet members lead SGA: President Tori Glover, Vice President Kyle Jenkins, Vice President of University Affairs Julia Hatoum, Vice President of External Affairs Julia Lencovich, Chief Justice Jack Levine, Chief of Staff Samatha Namit, and Treasurer Jonathan Hezel.
This year, SGA is holding their meetings on Wednesdays at 5:30 pm in Purnell 116. Anyone from the student body is welcome to attend, especially to voice their concerns, even if they are not voting members elected or appointed to SGA.
Ever confused about what precisely the SGA does?
Members of the cabinet are here to clarify several misconceptions about what SGA does and its power to change the student body.
SGA is not synonymous with the Allocations Board. In fact, they apply for a budget from Allocations each year, just as every RSO on campus does.
“Many SGAs at other universities operate this way and even make decisions about hiring, but at UD, this is not the case [but] we apply for a budget from allocations just like every RSO,” Glover said.
SGA’s primary mission is to serve to represent the undergraduate student population. They do this by actively addressing student issues as the liaison among students, faculty, and administration and encouraging all students to Be Heard. SGA takes a position of advocacy on behalf of the student body
“The University of Delaware SGA does not plan events the way that high school SGA does,” Jenkins said. “Each RSO is in charge of planning its own social events. SGA at the University of Delaware focuses on policy change and advocating for other groups on campus to make changes regarding organization and structure through the student handbook.”
Making policy changes and being a part of advocacy on campus may seem like skills that only aspiring policymakers, lawyers, or advocates should be a part of; still, SGA is for everyone from varied social and academic backgrounds.
“People often mischaracterize that student government is only for Political Science Majors,” Levine said. “At SGA, we work to represent all undergraduate students and want to have as much input from as many different individuals as possible.”
If you keep track of actions taken by the state and federal governments, you probably notice how slow the implementation process can be, similar to the speed of the process at SGA. SGA welcomes all ideas and resolutions that have the potential to enhance student life, but with the understanding that even if it passes within the Senate, it does not immediately go into effect.
“SGA can catalyze change due to our widespread campus and administrative connections; however, we can only advocate for the student body and do not always have the power to influence administrative and faculty decisions,” Hautom explained. “Many times, our resolutions have potential and will be presented to appropriate points of contact, but even when they are supported, the implementation of initiatives may take a while, so the effects are not visible to the student body immediately after the Senate.”
Change is a process that does not occur not overnight. If you are motivated to bring out this rewarding change, remember that anyone can attend the SGA meetings. Those elected or appointed to their positions within SGA are the ones that have voting power, but outside voices are what make SGA possible. You are more than welcome to partner with SGA if you have an issue you want a Senator to make a resolution about and propose.
Check out what resolutions were passed in September by following @udelsga on Instagram, and look out for more as the semester continues.