Dudley: SGA Ready for Action

I am very happy to have the opportunity to update you on a bi-montly basis on the happenings within SGA this year. So far, we are off to a fabulous start! The executive board has been hard at work over the past month and a half and the first meeting of the Student Senate took place this past Tuesday in the Ho Lecture Room. We were very fortunate to have public achievement guru Dennis Donovan from the University of Minnesota join us and say a few words to kick off the year.

Our main goal this year is to regain legitimacy within the Student Senate and increase effectiveness within the system. Along with the work being done within the Constitutional Revision Committee (an ad hoc committee created last spring) Vice President Preston Burnes and I hope to reinvent the processes within SGA to bring about positive change on campus with a grassroots approach. That means everything comes back to you, the student body. Learn who your senator is, inform them of issues in your residence halls or other places of living on or off campus, and see how easily you can take ownership of Colgate and feel that your voice is being heard.

Our committee structure this year will place more emphasis on smaller committee work, allowing our Senators to more closely focus on specific issues in the areas of Student Affairs, Off Campus issues, Legislative Affairs, Communications and Academic Affairs. To give you a brief overview of some of the areas the committees will be tackling this fall, the Academic Affairs Committee hopes to take on the current issues with the JCC (otherwise known as the library), while the Student Affairs Committee will continue working with the cruiser schedule and stops, as well as addressing meal plan issues.

The wheels are already in motion and are sure to produce excellent results. Have an issue you think might fit into any of the committee’s agendas? Let them know! Check out our channel and website off the Colgate Portal, SGA Express.

As for how I have been keeping busy so far, Preston and I have spent the past few weeks meeting with administrators in order to lay a strong foundation for this year’s SGA. We’ve also been working on a downtown initiative, meeting with the new Mayor of Hamilton, Sue McVaugh, as well as local landlords and the Hamilton police chief in an attempt to avoid unnecessary tension between the Village and the student body over the course of the school year. We are also looking at ways to bring greater representation to Student Athletes on campus.

Great things are in store this year for SGA and throughout the Colgate community. Enjoy Homecoming Weekend!!