Elon University’s Student Government Association executive board outlined its priorities for the year to the rest of SGA. SGA hosted a town hall open to Elon’s student body on Sept. 8, however, as the only students in attendance were SGA members, the executive board instead shared its plans for the year with the rest of the organization.
SGA’s main goals are to maintain community at Elon, improve communication, both within SGA and to the rest of the student body, and increase students' access to SGA — especially for organizations to apply for funding. This conversation also centered on finding ways to inform the student body about what SGA does.
Curran Gilster, College of Arts and Sciences senator, said he isn’t sure how to increase visibility or what to tell people when people ask.
“Everybody in the student body is very unclear … [on] what we actually do,” Gilster said. “I'm not even completely 100% sure what we can do and what we can't do.”
Demetria Hall, class of 2024 senator, said that when students on campus ask her what SGA does, she generally asks them what they’d like the organization to accomplish.
“Then the response is: nothing. They don't even know where to start,” Hall said. “How are we as representatives able to figure out how to represent the student body, if they're not giving us any way of what to do?”
School of Education Senator Hannah Hanson said part of the reason she thinks people are unfamiliar with SGA is that it is inaccessible. Hanson said this is because SGA holds its meetings on the second floor of Moseley Center — a part of campus students typically don’t pass by, making them feel less comfortable attending meetings.
Megan Curling, vice president of finance, said part of her goal in increasing accessibility is to improve understanding around how to apply for funding. Curling said the SGA finance manual is hard to understand, causing organizations to not apply.
Curling said her goal for this year is to use 75% of SGA’s allocated funds. Last year, SGA allocated 65.6% of its budget, and this year, Curling wants to ensure organizations take advantage of SGA’s $436,000 budget.
If the entire budget isn’t used, she said the money will then go towards projects such as helping fund the Phoenix Activities & Recreation Center, the gym near the Danieley Center. Curling said one of her main goals is increasing educational opportunities so organizations can apply for funding.
“Making them available once a month, specifically for organization treasurer’s so that they know that it's a constant resource,” Curling said. “I think I've also already met with like 15 different orgs who have never requested funding before, and they're learning how to do that, which is super exciting.”
SGA’s next business meeting will be Sept. 15 in Moseley 215 at 7:30 p.m.