Best Student Government
Community Colleges

Winner: Santa Fe Community College
Runner-Up: Hillsborough Community College—Plant City
Honorable Mention: Miami-Dade CC—North

Winner
Santa Fe Community College
Having really gelled together in the past three years, the Student Government at Santa Fe Community College has put “community” back into its school name through family-oriented programs and on-line services. A loose group of only 10 students in 2000, SG now boasts a membership of 100 serving in three branches under the leadership of President Chantel Wilson and Vice President Kevin Love.

For the first time in its history, SFCC’s SG is Florida Leader’s winner for “Best Student Government” at the community college level. What put SFCC over the top was SG’s focus on providing real-world services to students and their families and embracing technology and leveraging on-line assets better than any SG in the state at any level.

“Our greatest strength is our ability to function as a team in so many capacities,” Wilson says. “New members join our team and yet we still manage to be a cohesive team. Everyone has a voice on our team and we are all leaders in our own right, which has enabled us to accomplish all of our lofty goals and more.”

Certainly, their unique structure helps. Since so many of SFCC’s students transfer to four-year schools, the group is structured more like a university SG than a typical community college one. They’re responsible for 100 percent of student programming and for allocation of student fees. Consequently, a broad range of clubs and organizations participate in SG.

Event-wise, SG realized that though students may live in neighboring apartment complexes—there’s no on-campus housing—they still don’t have transportation for evening entertainment. So, SG started “Saints Cinema Movie Night,” providing free movies, popcorn, and drinks on Friday nights. Students bring their families with children in tow, which suits SG just fine. “They’ve done a better job representing students than in previous years,” says Dan Rodkin, SG advisor. “And their programs are far superior to previous years’ administrations.” Other programs include ones targeting charity and the international aspects of the college—40 programs during the fall alone.

SG’s new “Bowling for Charity” event promoted community service and student fellowship. A unique event, “Wax Hands,” helped liven up a political debate. Students dipped their hands in buckets of colored wax while listening to a County Commission debate addressing many issues affecting upcoming elections. These two events fulfilled SG’s goal of offering students “entertainment combined with education,” an integral part of its 2002-2003 platform. “They’ve been extremely dedicated to not only campus issues but also community and state issues,” says Dug Jones, director of student life. “They’re diligent in commitment to student participation in the governance process.”

SG increased its involvement with campus administration, giving students a voice by sitting on various committees such as “Food Service Advisory,” “Student Conduct Code Re-Write,” “Bookstore RFP Review,” and “Parking and Transportation.” “We have brought SG’s relationship with the faculty and administration to another level,” Wilson says.

SG also participated in the campus-wide East Gainesville Initiative and secured extended library hours, expanded bus service, and improved campus lighting. This SG administration also established “Student Legal Services”—very rare at the community college level—to begin in fall 2003. SG got funding to pay for an attorney to provide free legal services to students.

Statewide, lobby with the Florida Junior/Community College Student Government Association (FJCCSG), with their own Love serving as director of legislative staff.

On the technology side, SG’s web site rocks. It easily excels beyond anything SGs at community colleges hope to attempt and is a model for SGs across the state. The site provides surveys and questionnaires, features a “Senator of the Month” page, posts photos of SG-sponsored events (where staff photographers hand out pens and pencils listing SG’s web site address), details elections information, and lists upcoming events through a new student life section. Students can even listen to senate meetings via a live webcast. If they could just make that broadcast available throughout the week and post meeting minutes on-line, they’d really be cooking. To augment their communication efforts, SG also publishes a monthly calendar of events and services in the campus newspaper, The Saints Sentinel, and hands out calendars of information at every SG-sponsored event.

SFCC successfully instituted on-line voting for the spring 2001 elections, nearly doubling voter turnout to 6.4 percent. Typically, turnout at the community college level is atrocious, dipping as low as one percent. On-line voting usually boosts turnout, and SFCC proved that even as SGs everywhere are grappling with instituting on-line voting or, worse, still not even considering it.

To keep this pace-setting SG going beyond this year’s leadership, Rodkin and company hold a spring leadership retreat that’s unlike any other: he and the eight newly-elected officers head off on a four-day excursion to Black Rock Mountain State Park in Mountain City, Ga. It includes hiking, team climbs, and whitewater rafting on the Chatooga River—all with the goal of solidifying a leadership team through team-building activities. They also spend one day each on planning, including FJCCSG involvement, and goal-setting for the new school year. And for the first time this year, they’ve developed a transition manual for the Student Programming Board.

“They’ve accomplished more than previous years’ groups while building on their predecessor’s successes,” Rodkin says. “They’ve taken SG’s visibility to a whole new level.”

As Jones says, “They do have last year’s group to thank for paving the way. They clearly have expanded upon the successes from last year and distinguished themselves this year.”

Contact Rodkin at dan.rodkin@sfcc.edu, Jones at dug.jones@sfcc.edu, Wilson or SG at sgpresident@sfcc.edu, or visit www.sg.santafe-sla.com.

Runner-Up
Hillsborough Community College—Plant City
The envy of its larger sister campuses, the Student Government Association at Hillsborough Community College—Plant City provides globe-trotting stints and nights out on the town to a small student body. But don’t think it’s all fun-and-games: SGA provides free legal services, shows faculty and staff appreciation, hosts the SHARE food bank, and funds the student and success centers. Under the leadership of President Jennifer Hatley and Vice President Jennifer Jones, this SGA is representative of the students, getting a six-percent voter turnout the old-fashioned way.

“The SGA administration is a very responsible core group of students who continue to meet the challenges that they’ve had to face this year,” says Claire Jordan, student activities director. “Those challenges include dealing with budget issues, student needs, and student organizations with their own agendas, while still providing services and activities which benefit the entire campus.”

SGA hired a local attorney to come every two weeks to provide students with free legal advice. Because so many Plant City students are older with families, SGA says these types of services are even more apropos than at a public university, where legal resources are fairly common.

Recognizing that 50 percent of all education comes from outside the classroom, SGA funds student travel to England, whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River, and, tentatively, trips to New York and Toronto. For instance, SGA pays $1,000 toward an 11-day trip to England, with each student who wants to go only having to contribute an additional $500. For those not quite ready to “cross the pond,” SGA sponsors “A Night Out On Us,” sending students to sporting events, concerts, plays, movies, and comedy events.

“This SGA administration has more moxie,” Jordan says. “They’re willing to take up the charge, don’t tolerate laziness, and work to get things accomplished.”

To communicate these services to students, SGA has published its own news-packed newsletter, SGA Ink, for nine years since the college newspaper usually serves the needs of the larger campuses—Brandon, Dale Mabry, and Ybor City. SGA augments this with the monthly newsletter, Stall News. It makes using the “conveniences,” well, convenient. SGA also created a page on the HCC—Plant City web site that provides general information on SGA and their activities and gives summaries of campus organizations, though the site is still a work-in-progress.

On the home front, SGA refurbished the student center, bringing it to life and providing a place to hang out along with an SGA office and public-access computers in their cyber-lounge, aptly named, “Planet City.” They also fund a “success center” which provides free tutoring and career guidance. In spite of its more visible projects, this is the one SGA is most proud of because it changes lives.

And touching lives is what SGA is all about. They give faculty and staff candy and calculators as “thank you” gifts and even provides “grants” to help faculty pay for field trips. This show of appreciation in turn encourages the administration to announce and participate in SGA-sponsored events.

To make sure they’re connecting well with students, SGA conducts surveys in classes and at events. They then circulate findings to students in an “End of Year Evaluation.” With that information, the next SGA then plans the programming calendar for the entire year. It’s a great feedback loop that serves students well.

“The Plant City Campus has been blessed with student leaders who truly wish to serve the students of the campus and want to make the students’ college experience enjoyable,” Jordan says.

Contact Jordan at cjordan@hccfl.edu, SGA at hccpcsgapres@hccfl.edu, or visit www.hccfl.edu/pc/clubs.html.

Honorable Mention
Miami-Dade Community College—North
Connecting with the administration for the first time ever, giving students access to that administration, and providing free textbooks to students through an on-line exchange are the hallmarks of this year’s Student Government Association at Miami-Dade Community College—North. President Jerry Huson and Vice President Theresa Roberts help this administration fulfill their new slogan, “Together, Educating, Achieving, Motivating” (TEAM).

“For the first time in SGA history this group is invited to most of the campus administrative functions,” says Rose Ortega, student life student organization coordinator.

Having opened channels of communication with the administration through the “SGA/Administration Luncheon,” SGA wanted to help students connect, too, by starting the bi-annual “Student Population Meeting.” It’s an ongoing constitutional event where students can speak directly to the administration and faculty to express concerns in an open and friendly environment.

“Students feel that SGA has come a long way from previous years’ administrations,” Huson says. “They see SGA out and about mingling with the students and also talking in the classrooms.”

Helping students where it counts most, SGA started a “Book Donation” program. Each department buys at least one major textbook to donate to the campus library as student reference material. This is all handled on-line at SGA’s web site, from learning about the program to viewing a list of books to donating a book through an on-line form. This SGA knows how to put the web to work.

SGA also knows how to work the campus computer network by advertising SGA events and more through pop-up windows, screen savers, and campus-wide e-mail blasts. They also use various venues to advertise and communicate, including their new eight-page newsletter, aptly named The Ultimate Team.

Of course, this isn’t an all-work-and-no-play kind of campus—not in Miami. With the sun blazing hot and campus facilities down during the summer, SGA’s “Fun in the Sun” event treated students to games, a DJ, and food—plus an impromptu water-balloon fight.

This SGA continues its work with FJCCSGA, implements on-line voting, and takes transition plans one step further. Not only do newly elected officers shadow the former ones, but they pass on an “SGA Evolution Manual” with a video or DVD. The manual documents everything the previous exec board has done—paperwork, flyers, photos, and even an overview on what worked and what went wrong, with suggestions on improvement. The video captures their personal experiences first-hand. These are handed over at the “Incoming/Outgoing Officers Retreat.”

If these plans are any indication, the caliber of this SGA administration will be carried on by the next one, providing strong leadership for years to come. “This SGA is the most active and committed I have been involved with in the past 20 years,” says Dr. Armando Ferrer, dean of student services.

Contact Ortega at rortega@mdcc.edu, Ferrer at aferrer@mdcc.edu, Huson or SGA at nsga@mdcc.edu, or visit www.mdcc.edu/north/sga.

Copyright © 2006 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved