The Student Government Association is more than a board of student committees, meeting once a week and discussing matters, it is broken down into Senators, Conduct Board, and Honor Board. Within that, there are the executive board members, (President, Vice President, Historian, Secretary, etc.) as well as Class Presidents, and Council Representatives. SGA is not just for a select few of students; it is open to any Longwood student who wishes to get involved.
“There are currently seven permanent committees in our Constitution, but we create and dissolve committees as campus’ needs change,” said Constance Garner, SGA's new President. “For instance, we created a Diversity and Social Justice committee at the beginning of last year [we] found that we were having more student issues that fell under that realm.”
“Being on SGA means you represent all students as liaisons to the university faculty and staff,” said former Vice President, and Senate member, Adam Fletcher.
“For me, it was interest in government and politics at first, as I have been an elected member and former Vice President over the past three years,” says Fletcher. “Now that I know the true purpose of the organization, I have constantly sought reelection to help change Longwood as a campus through the decisions that SGA makes and to help students stay informed on issues facing our campus and adjoining community. It has been a great time serving on SGA and I would say one of my best experiences at Longwood.”
Members meet at a formal senate meeting where all Senators, Class Presidents, and SGA Representatives meet with the executive board, and select senators who also meet for SFC (Student Finance Committee) each week.
Garner says there is a pretty basic layout to how senate member meetings are typically run each week. Open Forum, or the most talked about campus concerns, “I consider to really be the most important,” says Garner. Topics usually vary around student needs, “each of our committee heads are also given time to speak, as well as each member of the Executive council,” says Garner.
“One great thing about Open Forum, which a lot of people don’t realize, is that anyone can speak, not just the board,” said Garner.
On the Longwood Student Government Association’s web page, Freshman SGA Elections are encouraged to apply for various positions.
Any and all incoming freshman interested in becoming a member of SGA can attend mandatory interest meetings in the coming weeks of fall semester.
Garner’s advice to incoming freshman if interested in SGA: “Reach out and let someone know. If someone was to walk up to me and say they wanted to be a part of SGA, I could definitely get them started,” said Garner
“I would encourage Freshman to not only get involved with SGA, but also with their class councils making them able to better keep track of their classes needs,” said Fletcher.
“We are always looking for people who can give us more perspective on our student body,” says Garner. “We are a pretty diverse group, but there are definitely some groups on campus who are going unrepresented.”
Longwood University’s SGA Constitution first aims to ‘promote cultural, intellectual, social, and personal developments of students,’ as well as raise awareness of any and all issues that directly affect or may affect the Longwood Community.
If you are interested in being a part of SGA on campus, check out the Longwood SGA website, bylaws and Constitution and email: Constance Garner, SGA President, constance.garner@live.longwood.edu on how to get involved. Apply for an appointed position, applications can be found: https://longwoodorgs.collegiatelink.net/