By BETSY CUNNEEN
September 24, 2006

As president of the SGA, I write you to inform you of the goings-on of your SGA. So far we have started out the year with lots of enthusiasm and excitement for the year ahead.

Our meetings have included the approval of membership to ASGA, a National Student Government Association. With this membership, all of your representatives will have access to the proceedings, ideas and tips from other colleges and universities throughout the United States.

We also have many new members for the 2006-2007 year. We have a new freshman President, Art Silva; Vice-President, Mariana Smith; and two Senators, Benjamin Torres and Tim Dugas. For the sophomore class, Earle Maxwell was recently appointed to the position of Vice-President. Further, Patrick Haller is the CUB representative, Latonya Carter is the Greek Council representative, and Tyler McKenzie represents the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. We are ecstatic to see such a strong interest in student government. Congratulations to those new members of SGA!

With all of these new members, we have all the more opportunity for hearing what you think. If you are not aware of your class representatives, you can visit the SGA portion of the Belmont Abbey website. Please know that the representatives’ chief concern is you -- that is, your concerns, your issues, and your problems. Don’t hesitate to share any issues of importance to you with your representatives.

Currently, we have added a new permanent point of business on our agenda. Every meeting, the floor will be opened for any suggestions, concerns and issues from you. So far, because of this addition, we have formed a Maintenance Committee that will attempt to communicate with the maintenance staff and discover new ways in which we can work together more effectively.

This is only one of the ways in which your SGA would like to learn more about what you have to say. Currently we are composing a survey to be distributed to the entire campus. This survey will hopefully provide SGA with insight into how you feel about certain aspects of the college, and also allow you to specify what problems or issues you have been encountering. Also, we are considering providing a suggestion box at different areas on campus so that you can anonymously communicate with us as well as a permanent e-mail address for the SGA as a whole. Keep an eye out for that survey so you can let us know which way you prefer to keep in touch with us!

Other important points of business so far have been the approval of the Psychology Club and the formation of a food and public relations committee. Keep your ears and eyes open for news on the Psych club, they seem to have a lot of great ideas!

The public relations committee will be working hard to make sure that you are aware of important upcoming events such as Homecoming. Homecoming Court nominations will actually be taking place on Wednesday, September 27th, so start brainstorming about who your King and Queen will be!

The food committee will be meeting often to ensure direct communication with Aladdin Foods. More information will be coming soon from the food committee. Just as a reminder, if you do have strong opinions about the way the Student Commons or Holy Grounds is being run, don’t hesitate to fill out a comment card. They can be found on the counter at the entrance of the Commons.

So far your SGA is really trying to make this school better for you. As I mentioned, please feel free at any time to contact your SGA representatives by e-mail, campus mail, and especially face-to-face. I can be reached via email (elizabethmcunneen@abbey.bac.edu), regular mail (Campus Box 67), or phone (7336). We are here to be the medium for communication to the faculty and staff and actively pursue improving Belmont Abbey College!