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Volume 54 lssue 21
SGA seeks responsible, enthusiastic students
By Mariam Abuhaideri
Staff Writer
mabuhaideri @yahoo.com
Every year, SGA
organizes elections to
elect their new Executive
Council members and
student congress.
The 2006-2007 SGA
Elections are being held
from March 13-17.
Students who are
interested in serving either
at the executive council
position or at the student
congress level must fill
out an application, they are
available at the Department
of Student Activities in
Room 200 of the University
Community Center.
Applications will
be available on February
17, and are due before 5
p.m. on March 3. To be
elected, applicants must be
a current student of UWG
and be enrolled through
May 2007.
They must also be
passionate about UWG
and dedicated to serving
the student body.
The executive council
consists of the president,
vice president, judiciary
chair, and the treasurer.
To be eligible for a
position on the executive
council, a candidate must
meet these minimum
qualifications: at least
42 semester hours, a
cumulative grade point
Lord reflects on term, SGA accomplishments
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Photo by Cherish Lynch
SGA President Blake Lord, left, and Treasurer Terrin Evans listen to Ideas and consider
suggestions from SGA senators. Lord is optimistic about his tenure as SGA president
and hopes that SGA can raise school spirit and morale among UWG students.
“The Student Voiee at the I niversity of West (ieorffia siuee 1954“
average of 2.5 and the
candidate must have been
enrolled through Fall 2005
semester.
All petitions for
candidacy must be in
accordance with the by
laws.
For more information
about the by-laws, contact
the SGA office at (678)
839-4742.
The executive council
members serve their office
from the beginning of the
summer semester to the
end of Spring 2007.
Some of the duties
of the president include
organizing committees to
deal with issues on campus,
prepare weekly reports to
the student council, and
to preside over all SGA
meetings and SGA events.
The president also is
responsible for appointing
members of SGA to
Faculty Senate and SGA
committees, acting as an
ex-officio member of all
SGA committees, and
serving as the liaison
between students, faculty,
staff, administration, and
the community.
The vice president
will take charge in the
absence of the President,
keep the attendance for
SGA functions and serve
on the Academic Appeals
Committee.
The judiciary
chairperson is in charge
of submitting nominees
for the Student Judiciary
Commission to the student
congress and serves as the
chair of the Traffic Appeals
Committee, and chair of
the Judiciary Commission.
The duties of the
treasurer include preparing
a budget for SGA,
submitting an annual report
to the student Congress of
all outlays, overseeing the
budgets, receiving Student
Activity Fee funding,
and serving as the chief
financial officer of SGA.
The senators elected
are expected to attend all
meetings and mandatory
activities of SGA, serve
as a member of at least
one SGA Committee and
one Faculty Congress
Committee, and serve a
minimum of one hour a
week in the SGA office.
All executive council
members and student
congress members possess
voting rights.
For a complete list
of duties of the executive
council and the student
congress consult the SGA
by-laws. The by-laws,
along with its constitution,
can be found on SGA’s
website at http://www.
westga.edu/~sga.
Blake Lord, president
of SGA, states, “We are
looking for students who
are excited about the
university and those who
p. J
Photo by Cheri\h Lynch
Senators Jen Rowlinson, left, and Joy Clifton, right, discuss student issues during SGA’s
weekly meetings.
are willing to dedicate
their time to serve the
student body. Candidates
should possess ideas and
make decisions on the
future of UWG.”
Lord also said his
job keeps him occupied.
“One word to
describe the president’s
By Crystal Farrer
Staff Writer
Cfarrerl @yahoo.com
Last Spring, Blake
Lord was elected to be
president for the Student
Government Association.
“I ran for president
because 1 had two years of
experience as a senator and
I was genuinely interested
in letting the students’
voice be heard,” he said.
Initially, his goals
were to lower textbook
costs, inspire students,
promote school spirit and
to implement procedures
and fundraising for the
SGA emergency loan.
“I feel that I have tried
to meet every goal that I
established for my term as
president,” he said.
Last semester, after
a lot of research, Lord
met with several state
government officials and
took a trip to the State
Capitol to propose a bill
to lower the costs of
textbooks.
Being approached
before with this problem
the legislature and Lord
encouraged members of
SGA to write letters to their
Wednesday , Tehruary 15, 2006
responsibility is busy.
But ultimately it is all
worth it, because of the
wonderful additions that
SGA has made to the UWG
student community,” he
says.
The SGA meetings
are held every Thursday at
3:30 in UCC 207.
congressmen to express
their concerns.
To promote school
spirit SGA hosted a
tailgate get-together at
one of UWG’s home
football games. This event
included food, games and
music by local musician
Zac Brown.
“The turn out was
good for this first time
event, but there is always
room for improvement. A
university can never have
enough school spirit.”
Recently, SGA
hosted several forums for
students to ask questions,
gain information, and
express concerns about
the mascot change.
In the future, Lord
hopes that SGA can
help raise spirits, morale
and support for the new
mascot.
“This is a very exciting
time for students at UWG,
with the new mascot and
the new Campus Center.
Students should be excited
and proud of their school.”
For the past couple
of years, SGA has been
working on establishing
an emergency loan for
students with extreme
Elected members will
have to plan their class
schedules keeping this in
mind.
For more information
on the elections or SGA
contact (678) 839-4742
or the Department of
Student Activities at
(678)839-6526.
financial circumstances in
need of funds.
SGA and their Special
Issues committee has
been working with the
Department of Financial
Aid, drafting and preparing
the loan.
In its final stages of
development. Lord’s plan
is to begin brainstorming
and planning fundraisers
for the next president to
implement.
A vote to accept the
final draft of the loan
will take place before the
semester is over; then
fundraising can begin.
Another goal of Lord’s
was to encourage freshmen
involvement.
SGA helped to create
“40 Days to Your Success,”
a program that encouraged
freshmen to be involved
and feel more comfortable
on campus.
Students received
a passport booklet with
different activities for the
first 40 days of school. With
each activity completed,
the student received a
stamp in their passport.
Students that completed
See lEFUCTie*,/ 2