by Carter Smith and Kasey Montgomery
As we reach the end of the 2024-2025 academic year at Centre College, here are some things that your Student Government Association has focused on addressing this year.
This year, SGA provided $140,000 to approximately 70 student organizations and $112,000 to the Student Activities Council (SAC) to promote a wide variety of on-campus student programming. This year allocations are transitioning to yearly rather than semesterly to help facilitate club planning and fund usage. Additionally, we hosted a Spring Club Expo for students to get another opportunity to connect with student organizations.
Further, two amendments have been passed this year. The first sought to prevent bias in the financial and student affairs processes by amending the constitutional criteria for the SGA President, Speaker of the House, Finance Chair, and Student Affairs Chair to not hold any other executive positions in any clubs on campus (not including Greek life). The second amendment separated the role of SAC president and Chair of Programming (formerly known as VP of programming). This was to unburden the workload of the SAC president and to allow for greater event programming opportunities within SGA— although SAC still remains the primary campus programming apparatus of student government.
In terms of campus improvements, we have worked on a wide variety of issues. By documenting ongoing issues with washers and dryers in an exhaustive report, we hope to see improvements. We worked on increasing campus accessibility by lowering the sidewalk between Crounse and Young and reporting broken door buttons. Additionally, several years’ work finally culminated in the opening of the Appliance Library in the Campus Center, an opportunity for students to check out cooking and cleaning items free of charge. The Student Senate sponsored book scholarships during Centreterm and Spring to help students cover the cost of course materials.
Our Culture Committee organized Wellness Weeks in both the fall and the spring to promote wellness and mindfulness with resources and giveaways. We also provided support to affinity groups on campus through involvement in the Inter-Cultural Collective. Other programming has included tabling for voter registration, the Student Town Hall, the SGA debate, and the first year project: The Amazing Race!
SGA has served as a voice for students among campus administration. Throughout the academic year, SGA members met 6 times with Parkhurst management to give feedback on student dining experiences, making sure that your voices are heard. We passed a resolution urging the College administration to invest more heavily in renewable energy, particularly through the installation of solar panels.
In all these ways and more, SGA serves the student body, striving to improve the experience of every student. If you have ideas or comments, please reach out to us on Instagram (@centresga) or through email. We would love to hear from you!