According to senior John Lee, an ideal afternoon at Colgate consists of a intramural softball game with his Blue Diamond Society team, watching a few episodes of “Parks and Recreation” or “House of Cards” and dinner with friends at Royal India Grill. However, that’s only if he’s not busy with meetings for Student Government Association (SGA).

“If I have no meetings for SGA that means it’s a rare afternoon and I’m going to be relaxing,” Lee said. 

As the current Vice President of SGA, Lee has had a busy year facing student issues on Colgate’s campus. Lee has constantly worked to increase the awareness of the campus community about issues that impact students from all areas and backgrounds

“It’s a matter of getting the campus community together and really challenging students to think about what it means to be a student in the community here, really making an effort to think about how inclusion can play out in both the classroom and in the actual community,” Lee said. 

Speaking on behalf of SGA as a whole, Lee explained that deeper critical thinking towards inclusion on campus was not something that the staff anticipated to be a major aspect of the work they did this year. However, they appreciated the fact that many students were willing to engage in meaningful discussion in response to distress on campus.

Personally, Lee sees his biggest accomplishment on SGA through the work he did leading efforts to reconstruct the Cruiser schedule. An unreliable Cruiser schedule is something that bothered him since his first year, so he came into his role as Vice President knowing that reorganization was a priority. He worked closely with the Birnie Bus liaison to assess student feedback in order to set up an optimal Cruiser schedule. Since spring break, the Cruisers stop three times an hour instead of one, inefficient miscellaneous stops have been eliminated and more cruisers make stops during peak class times to reduce the wait for students.

Next year, Lee plans to move to Washington D.C. to work for a lobbying firm where he will be conducting strategic communications in hopes of one day working on political campaigns. Although he is excited to embark on a new experience in such a fast paced city, Lee admits that he will miss a few things that are unique to Colgate. 

“I think I’m going to miss the fact that whenever I have some free time or want to see some people, everyone is within such a small radius.” Lee said. “I wish I could do the four years over again, but I’ve had a really great experience and I don’t think I’d trade it.” 

The Student Government Association (SGA) Presidential Election was in full throttle this past week as candidates from two tickets campaigned vigorously for the positions of SGA President and Vice President. Juniors Kegan Thompson and David Kim squared off with juniors Jessie Sullivan and Greg Brea for the coveted SGA President and Vice President positions. The two tickets presented venerable campaigns with fresh ideas designed to improve student life and the broader Colgate community. Over 1,300 votes were cast in this year’s election, and Thompson and Kim were declared the victors on Sunday, April 5. Thompson spoke about the results of their campaigning and the election.

“David and I are extremely grateful and humbled to be elected President and Vice President of the student body. We would like to publicly thank all of our campaign agents and supporters for their work and encouragement. We have big plans for SGA, and we are excited to work with everyone to get them achieved,” Thompson said.

Thompson also gave credit to Sullivan and Brea and said that he looks forward to working with them now and in the future as he soon looks to take charge of SGA and its many responsibilities and duties. Thompson and Kim will be sworn in as President and Vice President on Tuesday, April 21, in Love Auditorium. On that same day, current SGA President senior Sarah Rende will report on the work SGA has done this year, along with the Class Council Presidents.

Elections Commissioners senior Emily Taft and senior Victoria Linney worked tirelessly to ensure a clean and fair election was in order. The two commissioners helped launch many of the voting booths stationed around campus and worked together to ensure that lawful campaign practices were upheld.

“Both tickets were very strong and should be proud of the work they did the past few weeks. They both ran great campaigns that made the student body more aware of the issues on campus and the work that SGA does. This year we had the highest voter turnout in recent years, which was also a big accomplishment for the candidates,” Taft said.

In addition, the senior commissioners are also continuing on with future elections for SGA positions. There are many open positions and new leadership roles available for Colgate students. It is a great opportunity to effect positive change, and it is also filled with great responsibility. 

“For open seats, there are ten Senate positions for each year open, the Parliamentarian and Liaison positions are open and there are five open seats on the BAC. Our goal this year, as Elections Commissioners, was to bring more awareness to the elections and really push for more involvement. Often, elections are uncontested, which offers the student body hardly any say in who will speak for them,” Taft said.

In the midst of the exciting election and campaign season, SGA members continue to work on projects and initiatives for the Colgate community and are working together to put the finishing touches on many exciting programs and ideas. 

The Student Government Association (SGA) continued its work this week on various projects and initiatives. The Student Involvement Fair this past week was a success, and many students explored new interests and opportunities. The Inclusion Dinners are set for February 23 to February 26 and will foster dialogue between first-year students and Broad Street houses. The work doesn’t stop there however, with more exciting opportunities and developments on the horizon.

SGA representatives are currently completing their Green Certification credentials (now mandated for all SGA members). The intent is to promote a more informed and sustainable student body and is part of a process to make Colgate climate-neutral by 2019. Representatives are educated online and then take a quiz that assesses their knowledge of sustainable living.

In addition, SGA is looking to maximize attendance for a premier event. DJ ENUFF will be performing at the Palace Theater on Saturday, February 7 at 9:00 p.m. Food and beverages will be provided, and semi-formal attire is required. To gain admission, students must register for the event and get a free ticket ahead of time. 

Senior SGA Treasurer Austin Collier oversees the Budget Allocation Committee (BAC), which works to provide funding for student groups and events on campus. Collier has helped to create greater transparency between the BAC and the Colgate community and will help publish weekly reports on the BAC’s activities. 

“The Student Activity Fee funds the nearly 200 student groups on campus, and totals around $460,000 per semester,” Collier said. “This past fall was a time of great structural change that caused the fee to be distributed much more quickly than usual. The BAC is currently reviewing spring funding proposals and plans to begin publishing weekly updates on all successful funding proposals.”

Collier and the BAC hope to illustrate the transparency and work that goes into funding the various student groups and activities throughout the academic year.

On March 10th, the Colgate University Student Government Association (SGA) unanimously passed both a resolution and bill against Styrofoam. The bill, acting to change bylaws pertaining to the Budget Allocation Committee, prohibits BAC-funded student groups from using BAC-funding to purchase Styrofoam. This means when student groups host events and order pizza and drinks for pickup or delivery, there has to be explicit notice given to the vendor that Styrofoam cups or plates should not be provided. The resolution informs all Colgate departments and offices that the student body dissuades the use of Styrofoam and suggests action to reduce Styrofoam purchasing.

Why should we be excited about this? This is an exciting step our SGA has taken because Styrofoam is identified as the fifth largest contributor to waste in the environment. Styrofoam is a non-biodegradable substance, meaning that it is able to last in a landfill forever. Unfortunately, it is believed that an estimated 30 percent of our nation’s landfills are made up of this material. Not only does Styrofoam have negative impacts on our environment, but it also negatively impacts our bodies. A major component of Styrofoam is styrene, which was identified as a potential carcinogen and neurotoxin by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) several decades ago. Additional chemicals found in Styrofoam have been known to leach into food and beverages as it is heated up in the Styrofoam leading to the human ingestion of these chemicals. According to EPA studies, Styrene is now found in 100 percent of the fat tissues sampled from every U.S. citizen, including children. 

This bill and resolution builds momentum towards the ultimate action that should be taken: a campus-wide Styrofoam ban and ban within the town of Hamilton itself. With reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable offered at comparable prices, there is no need for Styrofoam anymore. There are many colleges, universities, cities, counties and even states that have already banned Styrofoam. New York City, for example announced a ban that will go into effect July 1, 2015. Stores, food service establishments and manufacturers will no longer be able to possess, sell or offer single-use Styrofoam containers, cups or packing peanuts. We should follow NYC’s lead and institute a similar ban; however, we are proud SGA has taken such an action to reduce Styrofoam consumption on campus.