Last Friday, the Student Government Association at Emerson College “hit the ground running” with their first General Assembly of the year, as described by SGA President Georgia Winn and Vice President Angus Abercrombie, two senior political communications majors who were elected in a general vote at the end of last semester. Last week’s meeting focused on appointing senators, enacting this year’s bylaws, and getting to know all the new SGA appointees and members. 

SGA’s 17 elected officials gather weekly on Fridays to hold the General Assembly to consider specific student needs, allocate funds for student organizations, and facilitate dialogues between students and the colleges. 

Marked by excitement and energy, a crowd of roughly 20 members and non-members of SGA began to outline responsibilities and schedule upcoming meetings for each branch of the organization.

From the Financial Advisory Board to class councils and other advisory boards, a vast array of positions and opportunities are open to the student body. This year’s leaders placed special emphasis on vacancies within each class council, noting the need for treasurers for all the classes, a secretary for the class of 2027, and a full leadership board for the new freshmen class, with elections opening on Oct. 7, according to Winn. 

SGA officials began the meeting by introducing themselves and newly appointed members, like Chris MacDougall, fraternity and sorority life senator, and Elyse Gobbi, to be the student accessibility senator. 

“[This is] a chance for people to just see each other’s faces and make more people comfortable with speaking out,” said Winn. 

Additionally, new bylaws, including sections on attendance, were discussed, such as Article 2, Section(s) 2-6, which will require members to report any absences to the SGA’s Executive Secretary, as well as regulations for the upcoming fall and spring elections.

Each member seconded Winn’s motions to appoint the new senators as well as Executive Deputy Treasurer-Designate, Coco Meyerhofer; Executive Secretary-Designate, Haley Clough; Chief Justice-Designate, Solidad Augustin; and Director-Designate of Communications, Bry Hession.

They also swore in members with positions currently held, with each new executive position holder receiving approval from the assembly by a two-thirds majority. Each elected member provided insight about what their specific branch handles for new members of the assembly. This included Senator-Designate for Community Service, Hazel Fitzpatrick, and Senator-Designate for Transfer Students, Rebekah Israel.

The Financial Advisory Board was highlighted for its role in budgeting and allocating funds for student organizations and events. The board makes suggestions to the General Assembly on how to finance initiatives connected to each organization, the first step of approval in receiving funds for school activities.

The Internal Affairs Department oversees all operations within the SGA General Assembly following the traditional format of Robert’s Rules of Order, which Winn declared a “double-edged sword” when attempting to cover each crucial topic swiftly yet thoroughly within the two-hour meeting. 

“This format allows for a more efficient structure, with each branch presenting an interest project which will be acknowledged, planned, and funded accordingly,” Winn said. 

Upcoming initiatives were also mentioned, with sustainability projects and community-engaging events on the horizon, including the Banned Books drive that recognizes literary pieces which have been condemned for political content deemed offensive or divisive, and the Commons Cleanup, which brings students together to preserve the natural greenery in our community.

“SGAs membership, including class council, is about 40 people, so it’s important that we get lots of different voices involved,” Winn told The Beacon. “I was really excited to see freshmen in the room, that’s always so exciting.”

As members of the SGA called for students to apply for these roles, they emphasized the importance of class representation in shaping the direction of the campus.

 “We don’t want anyone interested in SGA to feel intimidated by participating in decision-making processes; that’s why we hold this first meeting with the goal of getting to know each other,” Winn emphasized.

The decisions made in these meetings will have a widespread effect, according to Winn.  “One of our goals is always just increasing SGA visibility on campus outside of the organization and interacting with us as part of the annual budget review process,” she said in a final question regarding general initiatives.

She doubled down on SGA’s goals for increasing student participation in all aspects of the community, detailing initiatives sparked by student concerns just this year. 

“We’d also love to see people continuing to use things like the Lion’s Den extended hours, increasing organization membership,” Winn said. “[Those are] all of [the] sorts of things we work so hard for in these meetings.”