In this week’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, Director of Professional Networks Macrae Hammond and Director of Alumni Engagement Nicole Perkins gave a brief presentation on this year’s upcoming Mega Reunion.
Hammond and Perkins discussed how the Alumni Center is looking for volunteers for events, specifically people involved in different organizations and Greek life.
The Mega Reunion is the kick off to senior week, meaning that seniors must register for the event and registration fees will be waived. According to Perkins, the event is a great way for seniors to network and find alumni who chose the same career path as them.
Hammond said that some benefits of volunteering are $25 in Lancer Cash, $75 donated to an organization for every five volunteers and being able to participate in the events going on even when not being scheduled to volunteer.
She also said Fraternity and Sorority life has approved for the experience to fulfill fall volunteer hours.
Executive Senator for Committee Relations Joshua Darst, Historian Emily Moran and Senator Kiersten Freedman gave a presentation that reflected their experiences from Conference on Student Government Associations (COSGA) in Houston, Texas from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25.
Darst began the presentation by talking about food insecurity, which is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient amount of affordable and nutritious food. Darst prompted the question of whether or not the Longwood community has a need for a food pantry.
In the presentation, Darst pulled up statistics from FeedingAmerica which stated that Prince Edward County has a food insecurity rate of 17.3 percent. According to FeedingAmerica, 47 percent of Prince Edward County residents are below the SNAP threshold for poverty.
Darst proposed the Longwood community can help this issue by establishing a food pantry.
Freedman focused her part of the presentation on what other colleges are doing to potentially bring more ideas to Longwood’s campus.
According to Freedman, other colleges have Senators that have constituents so they always represent something - here at Longwood, Senators in SGA are general Senators. Freedman also said that SFC (Student Finance Committee) requests come in five days early so the committee has time to prepare.
Freedman then focused on the University of Florida, saying that UF has free blue books, an open forum livestream during SGA meetings and a month in review.
Moran ended the presentation by talking about new ideas for the university such as a potential new committee focused on Farmville relations, revamping the Giving Tree lighting event and to have a designated driver program between Longwood and Hampden Sydney.
Moran also suggested before a club or organization is allocated money from SGA, it would have to be on campus for a certain amount of time to assure that it won’t fail as a club or organization. This would prevent money from being wasted.
During open forum, Senator and Vice Treasurer Joseph Atkins talked about how the Student Health Center is not doing correct treatments for students when they come in sick.
Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Tim Pierson said that the services from the Student Health Center are contracted and will see major changes coming soon. Pierson also said that those responsible for the incorrect treatments should be held accountable for their actions.
Residential and Commuter Life Advisory Board Representative Kimberly Daucher said that there are wasps in Hiner Hall, which has been an issue for a long time. According to Daucher, students on campus feel that there is nothing being done about it.
Honors Student Association Representative Mary Zell Galen said some students feel unsafe while walking between the main campus and Lancer Park at night.
Longwood University Police Department Chief Robert Beach reminded everyone that the FAB still runs to Lancer Park and if a student feels unsafe, he or she can go to a blue phone and request a ride.
SGA executive senator Joshua Darst and SGA historian Emily Moran talked about their ideas from the Conference on Student Government Associations and how to improve Longwood campus.
