As Winter Term closes and we begin to prepare for Spring term, the Student Government Association ( SGA) wants to take this opportunity to encourage you to consider participating in 2010 Student Government Association Elections. Spring elections will be conducted February 23 and 24, 2010 for the next Legislative Year (April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011.)
The role of SGA in the campus community is an important one! The Student Government Association serves as the representative body to the administration and faculty for all undergraduate students with regard to student issues and institutional concerns. SGA is also frequently called upon to provide student input on a variety of institutional and academic issues or changes which are under consideration. SGA also manages the allocation of over $ 400,000 in student activity fees to student organizations and groups. The SGA Elections Committee wants to make sure that every student is aware of the opportunities to serve the community and participate in a premier leadership and representative experience. SGA has also committed to increasing the number of students participating in spring elections. We hope that every position is contested and that students engage in meaningful discourse regarding student issues on campus!
General Elections will be held this spring for three of the four councils on SGA: Executive Council, At-Large Council (class officers and senators) and the Academic Council. The Executive officers include the Executive President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Class officers (at-large) consist of four officers and two senators; Academic Council members are assigned based on their academic major or minor. Elections for Organization Council Representatives are conducted through organization liaisons in a separate process and are not held in general student elections.
In order to participate in SGA elections, candidates must be full-time students, have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above, and be in good judicial standing with the University (no current disciplinary probation or above). There is no requirement that students running for any position have served on SGA before (a common myth!) The SGA Constitution does require that the SGA Executive President and Vice-President be at least a rising junior and Academic Council representative must have declared a major or minor in the academic area they are representing. It is also important that candidate review their current academic and co-curricular plans to make sure they have the time to be an effective member of SGA. Rising class officers are assigned and elected based on the year they first matriculated at Elon:
Sophomores- Summer 2009 or after
Juniors- Summer 2008 to Spring 2009
Seniors- Summer 2007 to Spring 2008
Please visit the SGA web site at http://www.elon.edu/e-web/students/sga/elections.xhtml to review the Elections Packet for more complete information. Watch E-Net and digital posters for more information about application deadlines and required candidate meetings. Important date about the spring elections:
• Candidate packets are due to the SGA Office by Monday, February 8, 2010 at 5:00pm.
• Every candidate is required to attend one of the two MANDATORY meetings on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 6:00pm or Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 7:00pm in Moseley 217.
• Elections speeches will be February 10, 2010 at 6:30pm in Moseley 103 the Commuter Lounge (Required of certain positions).
If you have any questions about specific SGA position requirements or duties, please feel free to contact me at patters@elon.edu ; if you have questions about Elections, please contact Jerome Lewis, Elections Committee Co-Chair at jlewis11@elon.edu. Again, on behalf of SGA, we hope you will consider running for one of the elected positions. If you know someone who you think would be a great member of SGA, please encourage him or her to participate as well!
Sincerely,
Jana Lynn Patterson
Assistant Vice President for Student Life and Associate Dean of Students
Advisor, Elon University Student Government Association