Students at Shepherd University are equipped with a full-fledged bill of rights, are given membership in a legislative body, and are encouraged to make their voices and opinions heard. Although most students have heard of the Student Government Association (SGA), many are not aware of how much of an impact that the SGA has on their rights as students.
The SGA provides all degree-seeking students with membership inside of a governmental body that has significant impact upon the way that students interact with the university.
According to the SGA’s official constitution, “Any enrolled degree-seeking undergraduate students of Shepherd University shall be members of the Student Government Association, but only those serving as senators in this body will have a voting seat.”
Since students are members of the SGA through a qualification of degree status, they are also enabled with a bill of rights. This bill of rights—which can be viewed at http://www.shepherd.edu/sgaweb/—provides students with rights to free speech, free press, petition, non-discrimination and to several other benefits typical of an educational body.
The new president of the SGA for the 2013-2014 year, Alana Gondeck, was able to provide The Picket with introductory information about the organization:
“The Student Government Association is the voice of the student body here at Shepherd University. Any degree-seeking student is a non-voting member of the SGA, which means that you can come to any meeting and voice your opinion on student issues.”
Although the SGA is structurally inclusive, it can be difficult to ascertain what impact the organization has on student life at Shepherd. Since the organization works primarily behind the scenes, its effects upon student life are often subtle.
When Gondeck was asked what, precisely, the SGA would be doing during the upcoming year, she responded with the following:
“The SGA works to protect the rights of students and to initiate, direct, and promote students’ activities designed to enhance the welfare of the entire student body. This year we would like to help students create relevant legislation that truly represents the opinions of the student body and to work correspondingly, after passing, for results.
The SGA Executive Board would like to host open forums to discuss issues such as a smoke-free campus, gun control, race, sex and gender. We would like to see the growth of a student section at all Shepherd University sporting events. The SGA is working closely with the homecoming committee and would like to see a large voter turnout for fall elections.”
When SGA meetings are held, representatives from member organizations from all aspects of university life attend to discuss issues and programs facing them currently. If you are a member of a student organization, you may attend SGA meetings as a representative.
If you wish to become involved with Shepherd’s Student Government Association, or if you simply wish to be part of the governmental process, Gondeck provided the following information about SGA meetings:
“The Executive Board would like to hear what you want to see happen on campus. SGA meetings are held every Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Storer ballroom, located on the third floor of the Student Center. We encourage all students to come out to the organization fair and stop by our booth and check out all the wonderful student groups that Shepherd has to offer. SGA updates and news will be shared throughout the year in our website, in our Facebook page and in The Picket. We look forward to working with each and every one of you throughout this year!”