Student Government Association President, Walker Carlise, Vice President Ben Durrough, and other SGA members reflect on the fall semester budgetary setbacks and explain their plans moving forward into the spring semester.
Vice President of SGA, Durrough, claimed that one of his main goals for the spring semester is to fix the transparency between administration and the students in order to fix the budget problem SGA faced during the fall semester.
President Carlise explained that SGA did not have access to the budget last semester. This made it difficult to allocate the funds, give the student body the money that was meant for them, and host events that were supposed to be funded by the budget.
Carlise stressed that students need to be patient with the administration because everyone is trying their best, and SGA still has many fun plans in place for the fall semester. SGA still hosted a healthy Hill Week this semester. They are planning a color run with a concert on the avenue later in the semester, as well as bringing back the couch burning party, which was a fun success last year. Finally, they have been approved to host a 50-day-to-graduation Senior Wine Night to celebrate the graduating seniors.
They have many more behind-the-scenes plans to fix the system in which the budget is allocated. Carlise states, “The will is there from the admin, but there are numerical constraints.” Both SGA and administration understand the importance of SGA events and that these events welcome new students and get current students involved.
Retention is one of Carlise’s biggest concerns as president of SGA. When it comes to both students and faculty, Carlise stressed the importance of building relationships, specifically with faculty members, in order to create a welcoming and engaging environment.
Durrough, a graduating senior, wants to leave SGA with the freedom to get things done. He explained that, “SGA approves clubs’ money, so the budget needs to be fixed to get them their money.” When asked about SGA events last semester, he explained that the money was not there so the events needed to be cheap.
Nevertheless, SGA has big plans for the spring semester, while simultaneously fixing the budget problem. Ella Willoughby, a junior in the Senate, is on the Color Run event committee. She explained that there will be a color canon and a whole event on the avenue following the race. All of the money made from this event will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Despite SGAs’ concern with administration, all of the members want to stress that if you are a student who wants to voice a concern, please reach out to any member of the senate, your class president, or attend their weekly meeting on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm.
