Victoria Bennett, political science and international studies senior, and Mary Mour, political science senior, were formally sworn in as the 50th Student Government Association president and vice president respectively at the April 3 Campus Commitment to Student Learning Award Ceremony. Bennett said she is already fully focused on carrying out her new role. “I am very grateful for the privilege of representing Indiana University Southeast and to serve as the 50th President of the SGA,” Bennett said. “Now that the inauguration has occurred, my vice president, Mary Mour, and I are ready to embark on our new journey and begin working on behalf of all the student body.”

The Student Government Association announced at its March 22 meeting that the Faculty Senate has approved its Mandatory Syllabus Policy. The approval of this bill represents a significant increase in the influence of the SGA in determining IUS policies. “I believe this is the first piece of legislation the Faculty Senate has approved that has been put forward by the SGA,” Kevin Evans, secondary education junior, SGA vice president and the bill’s sponsor, said.

The Student Government Association approved the long-debated Bill 49-11 “Student Ambassador Program” at its March 15 meeting. The Student Ambassador Bill aims to increase the representation of each academic school at IU Southeast in the SGA. The bill proposes to accomplish this by establishing a committee for each school that will be chaired by an SGA member.

A delegation of 10 students from IU Southeast represented Egypt at the regional Model Arab League Conference at Miami University of Ohio on Feb. 16 through 18. The Model Arab League Conference is a political simulation of the actual Arab League, and IUS students took home three awards for outstanding representation in their individual councils. The Model Arab League Conference is a political simulation of the actual Arab League.

The Student Government Association moved forward with its plan to address the shortage of working microwaves on campus at their Feb. 23 meeting. Jennifer Reichert, international studies sophomore and SGA senator, and Matt Owen, political studies junior and SGA senate chair, introduced a bill that would allocate SGA budget money for the purchase of three new microwaves. The bill would set aside $500 for the purchase of the microwaves, including $250 originally intended to be spent on the Homecoming bonfire.

The SGA invites students to attend a town hall-style meeting on Feb. 8 to discuss the two bills that have been proposed to restructure the organization. The town hall meeting will be held in Hoosier Room East, from 1 to 2 p.m. The two bills, “49-10 Constitutional Amendment: Elections” and “49-11 Student Ambassador Committee,” have been proposed to restructure the SGA in order to ensure equal representation. “[Bill 49-10] basically takes our Senate and expands it from 24 to 28 seats,” Stephon Moore, journalism freshman, SGA press secretary and co-author of the bill, said. “It gives two seats to every school, two seats to undecided students, leaves six seats at-large, and leaves four seats open for incoming freshman.”

The Student Government Association discussed its agenda for the semester as well as some new additions to the campus during its first two meetings of the spring 2012 semester. The agenda items and new campus additions represent changes to the university that have the potential to improve the quality of students’ experiences at IU Southeast. Matt Owen, political science junior and SGA senate chair, opened the discussion by emphasizing his desire for the organization to become more accountable to the students it serves.