The Student Government Association (SGA) recently had a night for members to bring friends in to experience a meeting. This so-called buddy night was a way to spike interest and get more people involved in Student Government.
SGA is a very professional environment that can seem intimidating, but this special event welcomed the buddies and allowed for them to see how the club operates. The meeting started with introductions as the members of the club took their labeled seats and told everyone their names and majors. The same went for the buddies as everyone got acquainted with one another.
After introductions, the meeting kicked off. The room was rather silent while each person talked, with everyone’s attention being directed toward what they were saying. This type of environment allowed for attendees to speak their mind as everyone listened and reciprocated.
The guest speaker, director of the Wellness Center Felix Pizzi, asked the senate to introduce themselves and give him some information on what they know about the Wellness Center and its resources. Pizzi gave a quick overview of the Wellness Center on campus and it’s ultimate mission. He also allowed people to ask questions. The buddies were not excluded as they were allowed to enter the conversation with their own suggestions or questions.
After Pizzi had finished taking questions and suggestions, the room turned to the budget and finance committee presenters. A powerpoint presentation overviewed presentations made by different clubs for conference requests. For example, one of the trips that came up was one for the Game Design club, which wished to go to the Game Design Conference, or GDC. The club gave a quick overview of what the trip was and why they believed they should obtain a specific amount of money to go on the trip. Once the amount they needed and why they wished to go was discussed, the meeting moved into a voting session. All the requests were approved.
The club also discussed a co-sponsorship with CAPE for winter Big Money Bingo. This is where discussion really came in as people began to ask questions and get involved to see if the request was truly good for both sides. CAPE requested money from SGA to go toward prizes for the event, but some senators were skeptical about how the co-sponsorship would help SGA. After a healthy discussion, the senators denied the request and agreed to have Vice President Tyler Provencher re-negotiate the co-sponsorship.
SGA was inviting with this buddy event and the club members exemplified to the buddies exactly what meetings are like and how involved they can be. This could really open opportunities for anyone interested in government and allows for students to have some excellent experiences in debating and even allows for members to vote for things occurring on campus.
