SGA Begins Student Engagement Week

By REBECCA TURNER

As the fall semester comes to a close, the Student Government Association (SGA) is planning a Student Engagement Week to receive feedback from students next semester in January.

The SGA hopes Student Engagement week will be a time when all students are encouraged to voice their opinions about how SGA has affected their lives on campus.

According to SGA President Jeremy Thompson, the main goal of the organization is to “find things students are concerned about and change them.” He also said Student Engagement offers students a time to say whether those changes have been enacted and are working.

In the beginning of the week, the SGA will provide free snacks in the library, such as cookies and hot chocolate, for students to enjoy as they study for finals. The snacks are a way of letting students know “we’re here for you, come take a break,” according to communications director Stephanie Preston.

The SGA will also post a survey on Facebook, Twitter and email where students may answer questions from SGA Executive Cabinet members or just state changes they did or did not like about their student life. Students can also provide direct feedback on Twitter if their concerns are not addressed on the survey.

The main goal of the survey is to give students opportunity to give feedback “so we can do our jobs better and students can be more involved,” according to Preston.

Survey results will be gathered, analyzed and presented at an open forum Thursday, Dec. 6 in Lee Hall 412. The SGA would like survey participants to come and talk about their concerns from the survey and see how other students feel. At the forum, student leaders will listen to student concerns and help fix the problems, said Technology Coordinator Esther Newman.

The SGA also invited Dean of Student Life Cedric Rucker and Vice President of Student Affairs Doug Searcy to attend the event.

Student Engagement not only seeks to gain feedback from students, but also to give them a chance to get involved with the SGA.

Legislative Action Committee Chair of the SGA, Sean Simons believes the input from students is very important to the SGA.

“This is one of a variety of ways that the Student Government Association has tried engage students and figure out what issues are most important to them,” said Simons. “In order to further improve our university, we rely on students to inform us of their views. Then it is our job to ensure their vision becomes action and that their voices are heard.”