Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Student Government aims to unite college communities

Monday, March 9, 2020
Southeast Student Government Association in November allocated $1,000 to each of the five colleges for its senators to host events bringing their respective colleges together. The funding board brought this proposal to the Senate, which passed the motion unanimously.
by Madison Stuerman

Southeast Student Government Association in November allocated $1,000 to each of the five colleges for its senators to host events bringing their respective colleges together. The funding board brought this proposal to the Senate, which passed the motion unanimously.

Justin Jacobs, SGA treasurer and head of the funding board, said these events are to be a new way to unify students from the same college.

“We thought, to kind of give [student programming] a boost, that if people aren't coming us to do STEM program, then we were going to bring the student program to them,” Jacobs said.

The College of Business and Computing held an open forum for its students to have the opportunity to bring forward ideas about where they would like to allocate the funds.

Sophomore Layla Bouzihay is one of those five senators and said the use of the money is up to the discretion of each of the senators in the colleges.

“So [the use of this money can be for] how to improve our college as a whole, how to improve the buildings, how to improve communication — what do [students] want from us that we can give them?” Bouzihay said. “We have a lot of say as Student Government, so we can be able to communicate with the university officials. If [students] want something done, we can do that for them.”

Bouzihay said a major part of any student government senator’s job is to be a voice for students, especially in their own college.

“As senators, we're speaking for our constituents, we're supposed to interact with them, we're supposed to get their voice. How are you going to get somebody's voice if you're not talking to them, if you're not interacting with them?” Bouzihay said. “It's just to unite the community as a whole because — especially in the College of Business — we have so many.”

While Bouzihay said no colleges have held events yet, it is required by the executive board to host at least two events a semester. She added the purpose behind the allocated money is to make it easier for the colleges to host events.

“Typically, if that money isn't already allocated, then you'd have to have an event that costs $500 or more, you'd have to vote on it as a senate,” Bouzihay said. “So just already having that money allocated to you, makes it easier and simple.”

However, she said the main goal for the allocated funds is to unite colleges over events like pizza parties, guest speakers and dodgeball tournaments, similar to the one the College of Science, Technolgy, Engineering and Mathematics held last year.

“Events like these will be able to unite the community [and] be able to showcase all the different talents and different ideas that we have within our colleges,” Bouzihay said.

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