The Student Government Association (SGA) added extra interest sessions, extended application deadlines and created a new election committee as the organization faces a decrease in new candidates for the third year in a row.
SGA has seen declining involvement for the last few years as it has struggled to fill seats for the last two elections. This year it is expecting even fewer candidates.
Charles McGarry, SGA vice president, said that although SGA is expecting fewer candidates, it is still working to try and keep students interested.
“We expect fewer candidates, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t working to try and make sure that student government still remains an interest to students on campus,” McGarry said.
SGA President Julia Nicolls also addressed the decreased engagement within SGA and said that all organizations have seen decreased levels of involvement.
“Like all clubs and organizations on Seton Hall's campus, there has been a lowered increase in involvement,” Nicolls said. “However this does not prevent SGA from working just as hard for the student body.”
SGA added extra interest sessions on Feb. 22, 23 and 24 for students who were interested in running for seats on the student government. According to McGarry, these interest sessions were the last ones being offered. However, he also said that if there is still a “large interest” in running, then there “might be an additional extension.”
Along with the extra interest sessions, SGA has also extended the application and signatures deadline to March 5.
McGarry said that, so far, SGA has had a “good amount” of people attend interest sessions.
“We would always love to see more people participate in Student Government especially if they feel like they have ideas to help better student life on campus and off-campus,” McGarry said.
SGA has also formed an election committee with McGarry as its chair. In previous years, similar committees have been chaired by the vice president.
“The purpose of the elections committee is to help facilitate the process of general body elections for SGA in a fair and enjoyable way,” McGarry said. “We want to see everyone succeed and hope that we can get as much involvement as possible.”
McGarry also talked about the goals of SGA and the upcoming SGA general body elections.
“The goal has been and will continue to be a way for students to have more involvement on and off-campus and be able to voice concerns,” McGarry said. “Running in elections is the way for students to achieve the same goals.”
According to Nicolls, the campaign period for SGA elections will begin on March 15.
Genevieve Krupcheck can be reached at genevieve.krupcheck@student.shu.edu
