Club Feature: USJ’s Student Government Association (SGA)
Written by Zoë Sepa
The next addition to our USJ Club Feature is USJ’s own Student Government Association, also known as SGA! We sat down with our SGA President Maya Tomko and had a conversation with her about all things related to SGA and her own journey to becoming our President.
She shared what SGA is up to currently, what they have planned, and more exciting ideas they have in store. SGA holds meetings open to the entire USJ community every Thursday at 7:30 pm in the McGovern Conference Room, and anyone is welcome to stop by to listen or contribute! Feel free to come in person or email SGA if you have ideas that would add to our campus, or even if you just wish to become more involved. Enjoy the interview done with Maya Tomko, and USJ News Nest reporters Zoë Sepa and Nadia Krill.
Zoë: So we’re gonna start with some questions to get to know you. So why did you choose to run for SGA president?
Maya: So, initially it wasn’t really on my radar, but I was talking with one of my professors actually. And it started off as kind of like complaining, but then it turned into, you know, started off with the parking and then all this other stuff that I wish that we could see on our campus. And my professor was like, well, did you ever think about trying to run to be on the student council or government? So I was like, oh, like I never really crossed my mind, but then I saw that there were elections coming up.
And that was for last year, when I ran for vice president. So, that kind of encouraged me to keep going with it, with a step up, because last year, we didn’t do as much as the Student government, we didn’t even have a full E-board. We just had three people instead of four, and there’s normally four. So, yeah, I felt more encouraged to take the step up and run for a president and to do more than what we did last year and to try and boost our campus life and student life.
Zoë: Alrighty, so with that sort of what does your role as president entail?
Maya: So, I am and as well as the rest of the E-Board, but I am the voice for the student body, necessarily. So, I speak for everybody, I try to make things better for everybody, I try to take into account everyone’s feelings and thoughts about how the campus is and how our lives are run as the undergraduate population of the school.
Yeah, so what I really do is I try, along with my peers, I try to take what the general population is hopeful for at this school and I try to manipulate different factors that go into that to accommodate what everyone feels they need to succeed here and to have a better experience here. So, especially as a student myself, it’s more beneficial coming from me, like all this stuff I hear from students to come directly from me to make things better than to come from like a faculty member. So that essentially is what the whole point of SGA is, is to be the voice for all the students as a student yourself, if that makes sense.
Zoë: So, with that, what has SGA accomplished this semester so far and is there anything that you’re particularly proud of?
Maya: Yeah so, so far, can I talk about currently?
Zoë: Yeah of course!
Maya: So we just met with Molly Abrahams. She’s the head of Res Life, and right now we are trying to work with her and try and work with facilities. We’re gonna write a proposal to facilities to fix all these things on campus. Like, for example, the lounge renovations, so, especially Madonna, they lost a lot of space because of the quads. So, I’m gonna try and renovate the lounges, get better furniture, TV, games sets, stuff like that. Also other stuff around campus that involves facilities more so kind of like, appliances, like in the kitchens and stuff, the drainage outside, like when it rains and stuff and you’re just walking in pools basically.
Also with stuff in relation to, we’re gonna try to add vending machines in each of the dorms, because you know, the Jays Nest isn’t open that long, and, well, it is, but what about people that get back from work late, or something like that? And the dining hall is not open all hours, so, that’s currently what we were discussing yesterday, so that’s what we are, about to put together as SGA, the Senate and the E board collectively. A proposal to send to President Free to get the ball rolling with facilities and Res Life to kind of aid all these issues.
And also, another thing that we are currently working on which is a big issue on campus, is the parking problem. So, yeah. trust me. I’m very much aware of that as well, as a student. So yeah, so we spoke to President Free and she is totally aware of all of our concerns. We brought all these different types of ideas to fix the parking issue. Yeah, so that really seems like that will become less of a problem over the next year or so.
Zoë: And then, I mean, if you have anything to say to this, I feel like you partially answered it, but, what can we expect? I feel like that was sort of covered, but if there’s anything else…
Maya: Those are the two bigger things. Definitely, on like a smaller scale, I would say, we are going to be a part of the Earth day event in April. I know that’s like a one day thing. Also, the pet food drive. But, that’s what Miriam was just talking to me about. There will be prizes funded by SGA. They are to kind of entice people to donate pet food and the clubs and organizations. So it’s basically like a competition between the organizations on campus, so who can like, collect the most pet food to donate, they get $100 either, like a kind of voucher for their club or a pizza thing, or something else if they think of something. But, yeah, so, I mean, there’s little things like that. There’s definitely other stuff, I’m just not thinking it off the top of my head.
Zoë: So now we have a few, like SGA specific questions for you. Okay. So, what are the avenues for students to be able to express their opinions and concerns to SGA?
Maya: Oh, okay, so I’m glad that you just asked that, actually. So, that just reminded me, as of right now, we are bringing different ways to connect with SGA for outside students now. So we actually just got I don’t know where they are, but we just are probably in Steve’s office. But we just got these things we’re calling them suggestion boxes, obviously there’s like casual email and stuff like that, but I guess to broaden that, we got these three big suggestion boxes and we’re about to decorate them. And put them in different spots of the campus, probably one here, probably one in McDonough and I don’t know where the third one’s going, maybe the Library.
But, that is where students or anyone really, could anonymously write down a suggestion or something that they want to change and put in the box and every week or so, we will collect all of the suggestions, and have them out at our meeting and talk about it. Also to go with that we are in the middle of figuring out hours, but by the end of the break, we will have it solidified. Several hours throughout the week that are like hours for students to come into like we’re either gonna have in the office upstairs or in here. Where students could come in and talk to SGA and verbally ask questions or give suggestions basically the same essentially the same thing as what the suggestion boxes do, but in a more in person format. And we are going to be allowing anyone from the student body to come into our weekly SGA meetings with the Senate. To also personally express concerns or give ideas in front of the whole council.
So essentially we’re giving several different ways for people to express their concerns and stuff like that. So, yeah, I do not know where the suggest boxes are, but I know that we are planning on decorating them soon. So, yeah, something a little different, you know? Also trying to revert from the more technical side of things to the more physical, like the suggestion boxes or coming in person and stuff like that, so yeah, hopefully it kind of entices students more to give their ideas.
Nadia: And so for the weekly meetings, are there weekly meetings and is there a Senate currently?
Maya: So, every Thursday night, we have an E-Board meeting and then after the E-Board meeting, we have the E-Board with the Senate. Yeah, so the E-Board is kind of, we discuss, things that are kind of just tailored to us and we talk about what we are going to be talking about in the Senate meeting and what we are gonna have everyone vote on in the Senate meeting and stuff like that, so we kind of get a gage before everyone comes in, on what we’re going to say, and then when they come in, there are usually things that we vote on. And I kind of just relay all the messages that I have of meetings from, like Molly for example, that meeting I had with her, I had her with her on Wednesday about the lounges and the other dorm related renovations and stuff.
Zoë: So we’ve only got one more and it’s basically like, well, we know SGA is a long standing club on campus. And I know previous student governments have followed the SGA Constitution and were sort of trying to rewrite that. So is SGA still following the old Constitution or if not, is there a new one?
Maya: So we are currently following the Constitution that we have been following, there have been talks of us changing it up and stuff, but it’s never actually happened. So, I mean, we haven’t had an issue with any of it. I mean, yeah, so in regards to what it says here, how can students access the new Constitution? I mean, students can pretty sure students can access the current constitution, right?
Nadia: Yeah, it’s on My USJ
Maya: We tend to follow, have you heard of Robert’s rules? (1)
Nadia:Yeah
Maya: So, we follow that kind of format with it. as well. So, yeah, pretty much, there’s nothing really much to that. It’s kind of just, you know.
Nadia: I don’t know how voting has been working, like, when was the last election?
Maya: Like, yeah, so elections are in the fall. Um yeah, you know what, we just brought that up and this one said something, I remember what they said. I believe it will be briefly brought up in the meeting about when we would have elections and if it would be something different, but we never really got to. Like someone kind of insinuated, like, oh, maybe we should have it at the end of the year. But, like this year, but it never really came out. So it probably would be again in the fall, yeah.
Nadia: And for the Senate, like, how many senators are there currently?
Maya: We’re supposed to have 20, but I know for a fact that we don’t have 20, but I’m gonna count. I just have, like, a list. Okay, we have 15 senators, so then with the 4 E-Board that almost makes 20 pretty much. So, I mean, I guess in total, it’s not that bad, but, but yeah, so in theory, there are supposed to be 20, but we didn’t have that many volunteers to really want to join us. Cause normally there would also be kind of an election process for that, but we didn’t have that many people that wanted to be a Senate member. So, yeah, but do you have other questions?
Nadia: It’s nice to like SGA is doing stuff, and up and running because I know, it’s had a little bit of a little bit of a lull.
Maya: And yeah I’m completely aware of that because I was a part of it last year. So, I even was confused by it too, almost.
Nadia: It’s good to know that there’s meetings every Thursday, that people can join. Do you guys advertise? I know advertising is hard because like no one reads anything. But like, we’ll put like on here if you want, like the time and stuff so people can go if they want to, um, do you, like, what time is it that people can join?
Maya: Um, so, it would be 7:30 hold on, let me just double check. Okay, we are all fine. I was just making sure, but yeah, it would be 7:30 on Thursdays. Yeah and it would be in here, so, so, yeah. And anyone’s welcome, they could even just come and listen, and really doesn’t matter at all.
Zoë: But yeah, it’s good to know that they’re so like a thing that people can go to. Do you have any other questions? No, that’s it. Okay. Thank you!
Nadia: Thank you for meeting with us!
Maya: Yeah, thank you for having me.
Zoë: If you think of anything else like you want us to ask just reach out!
(1) Robert’s Rules are a set of guidelines to help groups hold productive, fair, and orderly meetings. They’re used by clubs, boards, and organizations to make decisions as a team.
