The Patriot

Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Iris Slade Laquilla Corbett, SGA vice president, (center) plays an icebreaker game with senators during their Jan. 24 meeting.

Media Credit: Iris Slade SGA president Robbie Robinson speaks with senators during the meeting.

Media Credit: Iris Slade SGA senators discuss changes to be made around campus.

Student Government Association (SGA) officers and senators said they hope to resolve by May many of the student concerns addressed at their first town hall meeting last month.

"If we can, all (of the issues) will be resolved by the end of the semester," SGA President Everett "Robbie" Robinson said. "We had an in-depth discussion about what we're going to do and how we're going to handle everything."

Similar to Robinson, senate member Tom Allen is "confident some of the issues will be" resolved.

"We all share these concerns - not only are we the student government, but we are students, as well," Allen said. "I think, when we put our mind to resolving these issues, the entire student body will see results."

The issues discussed at the Jan. 17 meeting included concerns about distribution of tickets for graduation, lack of promotion for campus events and harassment of students by campus police.

Although Robinson said he was aware of many of the issues prior to the meeting, he also said some caught him off guard.

"There were a lot (of concerns) that surprised me," he said.

He said it's important that students attend the meetings to ensure that their needs don't go unnoticed.

"The more voices, the better (their concerns will) get heard," Robinson said.

During their latest meeting on Jan. 24, SGA members formed small committees assigned to take on specific problems.

Some of the changes, Robinson said, aren't difficult to make.

"It can be as simple as talking to someone about something (that needs to be fixed)," he said. "Some people don't know it's an issue until you bring it to them."

The groups have been provided with a list of contact information for school officials most familiar with their assignments.

Their responsibilities include not only researching how students are affected by certain issues, but how students at other institutions are affected, as well.

"(The senators) will go out and correspond with students in addition to the three (contacts) they've been assigned to work with," Robinson said.

From there, he said each group must update the executive board at least three times a week and again during each session. By taking a more active approach, SGA hopes to provide tangible results for students.

"People need to see results," Robinson said. "People can talk about change all the time… (but) you're still at square one if you just talk about it."

Allen thinks the small groups will help SGA to be more effective in its mission to make changes on campus.

"I think (the meeting) gave us insight into what the students really wanted, and I think that if we use that as road map, it will be beneficial to the student body," he said.
Robinson said he thinks the groups were a step in the right direction.

"I feel like it's going to enhance the communication that was previously on campus…" Robinson said.

"If it's a concern of the students and (the senate) has done the proper research, (the changes) will stick," he said.

The date of the next town hall meeting had not been announced at press time, but Robinson said the senate will "keep people informed weeks in advance."

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