The preamble of Union University’s Student Government Association’s constitution states, “With the consent of the administration, faculty, and trustees, we, the students of Union University, in order to foster unity between students and school, to promote student concerns, and to advance the general welfare of the school, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Student Government Association of Union University.”
“What we’re there for is to kind of bridge the gap of concern between the students and the school,” Gabby Morocco said, explaining in her own words SGA’s preamble as she read it aloud.
Morocco is a family studies and psychology major, has three jobs, is a welcome week leader, a student ambassador, a member of Chi Omega and the sophomore class president.
“Between the three jobs and my other organizations, SGA is my priority,” Morocco said. “Making Union a better place is just fun.”
The Student Government Association, or SGA, is comprised of four councils that are separated by classification, as well as an All-Staff council. The sophomore, junior and senior councils are made up of approximately five to ten students that are appointed by the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer of each class, who are commonly referred to as the council’s officers and are voted on by the student body each spring. The freshman council is chosen in the fall by the SGA All-Staff council and later appoints officers from the members within the council. The All-Staff council consists of the class officers from each class council, as well as All-Staff executive officers that are voted on by the student body in the fall, and an appointed cabinet.
The four class councils are responsible for hosting different events for the student body throughout the year. However, SGA’s main responsibility and concern is student senate.
“Senate stems off the section of the preamble that says ‘promote student concerns,’” SGA president and senior psychology major Trenton Holloway said. “That’s basically what we aim to do in senate.”
Senate is a space for students not involved in SGA to voice either their personal concerns or the concerns of a specific organization. Students may petition the senate for money to be directed towards their organization or petition for a specific change within the university in the form of a resolution. It is then up to the senate body, as a representation of the entire student body, to decide whether each resolution is a concern for the majority of Union students.
Holloway believes senate is vital for SGA to properly live out its preamble by allowing a place for every student, not just those a part of student government, to be heard.
“You don’t want the people with the loudest voice to be the only voice that you hear,” Holloway said.
The idea of having four class councils, an All-Staff council and student senate seems like a lot of people and opinions for a small university like Union. However, each serves a vital purpose within SGA and the university. The class councils are set to serve as a voice to promote each class’s goals. All-Staff is designed to keep the class officers informed of what is happening within each council and changes that are being made around the university in order for the class officers to keep their councils informed on such things, whereas senate is specifically designed to hear directly from the students and implement desirable change around the campus.
Overall, SGA aims to be the voice of every Union student and to ensure each concern, whether big or small, is being heard.
“I think it started freshman year with the desire to be a part of something,” Holloway said on why he chose to join SGA and eventually run for SGA president. “Through freshman council, I quickly realized that student concerns are something that I’m passionate about and that I love Union and I’m passionate for our mission.”
