Leaders from the three branches of the Student Government Association shared their goals for the coming year on Wednesday night.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Lesly Hernandez, Speaker of the Student Senate Victoria Owens and Student Body President Kylee Hower also talked about their experience in student government and what SGA has done since last spring.
Here’s what each had to say.
Kylee Hower, Student Body President
Student Body President Kylee Hower discussed the discrimination that women in SGA have faced in the past, highlighting the fact that women now lead all three SGA branches.
“While it’s joyful to celebrate this, it still breaks my heart to think that even today, with so much progress made at this university, women in student leadership still struggle with these issues,” Hower said. “I have been disappointed by actions of members of this association, in the past and recently, and I’m here to say, as a president of this association, I will not stand for this.”
Hower also discussed initiatives that SGA is working on, including increasing student engagement in athletics, reviewing issues related to parking and sustainability, and revamping the campus community garden.
She said SGA is working on increasing engagement with its social media and will be launching a new form for students to submit questions or concerns.
Hower also addressed concerns about appropriations, the process where Student Government divides up funding to student organizations. Last week, representatives from organizations raised concerns about the funding they were expected to receive and a senator called for an examination of the appropriations process.
“I’m announcing the formation of a task force on SGA funding whose primary role will be to investigate the policy behind SGA funding to ensure that we’re set up better for the present and future,” she said.
Lesly Hernandez, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Hernandez talked about the role of SGA’s Supreme Court and encouraged students to pay attention to its decisions.
She highlighted some of the court’s functions including making decisions related to the SGA constitution and hearing appeals of decisions made by lower courts such as traffic and parking disputes.
Hernandez shared some of her goals, including increasing the court’s accessibility to students, encouraging students to advocate for themselves and promoting equity in the court’s decisions.
“It is crucial for our resources to be user-friendly, and I vow to ensure our system does not impede a student’s desire to make their voice heard by the court,” Hernandez said.
Victoria Owens, Speaker of the Senate
Speaker Victoria Owens introduced the Senate’s new chairpeople and shared their goals for the year.
Owens said SGA will introduce new training for senators and encourage them to speak with constituents.
“I call upon the members of this association to put our best foot forward and continue serving as pioneers for this university,” Owens said.
The Student Government Association will reconvene next Wednesday, Sept. 11, to discuss the appropriations of student fees. The session will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Santa Fe room of the Rhatigan Student Center and will be livestreamed.
The full State of the Student Body address can be viewed here.
