Collegiate Times

The promise of the SGA4You campaign was to amplify the voice of the students.

Since the election, our door has remained open to any concerned student and this is a policy which we are committed to maintaining. However, we have realized that some students are not willing to voice their concerns and we are seeking to calm these worries.

As a result, we are now writing to clarify any misinformation which may still exist. In an effort to build a team that selflessly serves you, the students, we have disgruntled a select group of individuals comprised of a former UnitedSGA candidate and affiliated persons.

Our team is comprised of student leaders from a variety of backgrounds across campus. We sought to bring together a diverse and qualified team without the expectation that a natural progression within the organization should occur.

For us to properly represent the students' voice, we felt that it was important to harness the wisdom and experience of individuals both internal and external to SGA. So much so, that in order to give applicants a fair process, we reviewed every application submitted to ensure they were qualified to serve on the executive team, and then spent over thirty-three hours interviewing candidates within a four-day period. Then, after careful discussion and deliberation, you now have an executive board team that sincerely cares about you, the student.

Here are the specific concerns which we would like to address:

False allegations of bribery: During our interview process we had pre-written questions which sought to clarify candidates' intentions to join the SGA team. One question which was posed asked: "If we were to give you $100 right now, would you leave the interview process?" Another question asked: "If we were to offer you an assistant directorship or committee position, would you still be interested in joining the team?" These questions were just that, questions, and came with no pretenses. They served merely to clarify the motivations for those applying. This was important for us because we were devoted to assembling a team focused on serving you, the students, as opposed to their resumes.

Change from Assistant Director to Co-Directors of Government Affairs: Each director has a specific role with one focusing on the national political scene and the other on colleges across the country. We felt the previous structure did not equally empower both of these directors and so we made this change.

Giving positions to people that they did not apply for: During the interview process, many individuals expressed interest in other positions beyond those which they applied for. We chose not to limit them by their initial choices, and instead allowed them to voice their interests in order to harness their talents and build an exceptional team.

Ultimately the SGA Constitution & By-Laws state that the SGA President has the power to appoint students to the Executive Committee. This means that the SGA President is able to identify individuals for particular roles who are most qualified and then place them in those positions. However, in a sincere effort to respect the diversity and inclusion of ideas and experiences, the SGA President sought to identify individuals who represented multiple constituencies across campus: students new to SGA, students returning to SGA, and students supportive of either ticket, and this is reflected in our executive team. This commitment of the SGA4You team to hearing and representing the voice of every student has not and will not change.

Brandon Carroll, President

Shane McCarty, Vice President

Morgan Bradley, Secretary

Joey Zakutney, Treasurer