As we move past midterms and the leaves and snow start to fall, campus continues to become more lively every day.
In the few weeks since my last update, our senators have been hard at work on projects that we have been plugging away at since the start of the semester. In that time, we have officially announced Loretta Simon as our new Freshman Senator! We are extremely excited to welcome her to the senate body and hope to continue to better the freshman student experience with her addition.
Speaking of freshman elections, more than 23% of the freshman student body came out to take part in Freshman Senator Elections — a great indicator of student involvement at NSU.
Following the freshman election announcement, several of our senators came together to decorate a float and take part in the Gypsy Days Parade. Our senators had a great time throwing candy to kids as they braved the cold, rainy weather. A photo of our float was even featured in the last issue of The Exponent!
After Gypsy Days, four senators joined President Doerr and I as we attended the Board of Regents Meeting, October 2-4, at the School of Mines in Rapid City. Here, we attended our Fall Student Federation meeting where we discussed topics such as freedom of speech, teacher salary competitiveness, and need-based financial aid, among other things.
We will be bringing a resolution before the senate body in support of Federation legislation discussed at the meeting. All in all, the three days were a great learning opportunity for our senators as we sat through the regents’ meeting sessions.
Jumping forward, this past weekend, 10 members of SGA took part in volunteering for the Aberdeen Optimist Club’s Annual Kids Pumpkin Patch! At the event, we served concessions throughout the day as 1000 local kids scoured Centennial Village looking for their perfect pumpkin.
With help from Taco Johns, Fire Safety First and Ken’s SuperFair foods, the day went off without a hitch. We were able to raise over $380, which will all be donated to the local YMCA Reach and Rise Mentoring Program.
We are very excited to see the funds go back into the community that already gives us so much, especially giving the money to a program that benefits children in Aberdeen. As we look towards the future, we hope to engage in further volunteering opportunities to give back to NSU and the community whenever we can.
Also looking towards the future, the Student Budget and Appropriation Committee and Senate Election Committees will meet for the first time in November as we prepare for SBAC hearings and senator elections in the spring. We will also host the first SGA Town Hall in collaboration with Residence Hall Association on November 5 at 6:30 p.m. in the Library Rotunda Room. Here, we will discuss and answer questions regarding topics submitted to us by the student body. We hope to see you there!
Tyler Harris
SGA VICE PRESIDENT
The Exponent 