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Best Student Government (Community College)
     From the moment SGA President Jason Roderiques and his team were sworn into office, Broward Community College, North Campus students could feel the heat. The group came in with a bang, arranging a first ever Monday Midnite Madness Meeting for last year’s officers to pass the torch, followed by a general assembly meeting and a dance. But the fireworks didn’t fizzle out then. Instead, they’ve kept the flame burning by illuminating student needs and responding with research, grant proposals, and a full agenda that Roderiques hopes will prove to administrators that SGA isn’t just another club.
     Because the Broward leaders work with a fraction of the budget enjoyed by even much smaller community college student governments—a mere $3,700 annually to serve 15,000 students—spearheading each project takes on a different meaning. For example, when hosting a semiannual administrative luncheon, SGA leaders had to be innovative.
     First, members scouted the community to request donations from merchants for food and decorations. Next, they borrowed dishes, linens, and silverware from a former chef, and sought out student musicians, poets, and dancers for entertainment. Roderiques then arranged for a local culinary school to prepare a gourmet meal as a school project. More than 100 students and faculty attended the meeting, which didn’t use a penny of SGA’s budget, to discuss tutoring, decentralization, food service, and teacher syllabi availability.
     Advisor Mareta Sizemore says the group is constantly researching on-line, networking with FJCCSGA members, and sharing information with constituents who never have to guess what their reps are doing for them, since a giant "To Do, Doing, Done" list is frequently updated outside SGA’s office door.
     To further advance communication efforts, talking sandwich boards in the cafeteria advertise SGA events, while Issues, Activities, and Club boards and a newsletter keep students abreast of campus activities news and legislative issues. SGA members also are matched up for letter writing with members of congress, and BCC students can vent or debate at an Open Mic hour twice a week at noon in a high traffic area on campus.
     Of Roderiques, Mareta Sizemore says, "He’s stood his ground—he walks the talk." She says after learning that he would have to take a request for public syllabi to the faculty-senate, Roderiques did just that and set a precedent in the process. Soon, the group had three file folders full of professors’ syllabi. "They put in a lot of time," Sizemore says of the "best and most active" group she’s worked with in three years at BCC. "They’re here all day and all night."
     SGA also has worked to boost school spirit by sponsoring a student and professor of the month recognition program, laminating IDs, and pitching in to help other clubs on campus. In addition, Roderiques’ team recently brought out Sammy the Seahawk, the BCC mascot, to support the school’s athletic programs.
     Editor in Chief Steve Coate of Broward’s newspaper says, "In the past, The Observer hasn’t had a good history with SGA, and that changed with this new administration. They’ve been much more forthcoming about making us aware of their events and making students aware of the issues, which is something we like to see." Coate says unlike past administrations that fussed when refused a column of their own, Roderiques respected Coate’s decision not to allow him Observer space. "In the past, SGA had griped about it, but there’s no grudge there now."
     Roderiques and his eleven staffers lead by example through North campus’ Office of Volunteerism and Leadership. Three e-board members are certified American Red Cross Instructors on HIV/AIDS education and one is on the American Cancer Society’s "New Directions" Executive Board for young professionals. Besides collectively pitching in to these causes, SGA worked with the homeless, Toys for Tots, the Saturday Stars mentoring program, and the Wildlife Care Center.
     Though Roderiques may be paying for the past couple of years when BCC-North SGA presidents were either kicked out or resigned, he knows that every day of hard work and follow-through means the group will be taken more seriously by administrators. Hopefully, that will spell a larger budget, more autonomy, and a new image for SGA. "We’re caught in the transition," says Roderiques, who hopes to move all his To Do’s to the Done column by the end of the year. "But we want to set a precedent for the future." (See photos, pgs. 16 & 33)

Best Student Government—Runner-Up (Community College)
     Being open to new programming ideas, offering a wide selection of activities, and keeping an ear to student needs makes the Daytona Beach Community College Student Government Association a standout. Susan O’Keefe, Robert King, and Ginger Shuman bring the community back to the college with events that seem to advertise the system’s open admissions policy.
     When SGA learned that student Jean Marie Jaccobs desperately needed a liver transplant, they ran a fundraiser during a Welcome Back event to raise nearly $1,000. SGA also pitched in with the local "Share Your Christmas" food drive to collect 300 pounds of items, as well as "Helping Hands," to solicit donations for items not covered by food stamps. Besides coming to the aid of local disaster victims, SGA raised money for courses with a Giant Yard Sale and souvenir stands at NASCAR events.
     O’Keefe and the DBCC gang were just as busy with campus programs such as the Welcome Back fiesta, World AIDS Awareness Day, a Cultural Festival, and Abilities Awareness Day, which featured wheelchair ping pong, Braille for bucks, and a wheelchair rally. SGA also introduced seven new campus clubs, and sponsored a free Student Appreciation Day lunch. Campus safety and registration hangups were two hot campus issues for the crew, but nationwide DBCC had a representative for its concerns; Susan O’Keefe served as the Southeast Regional Director for the American Student Association of Community Colleges—a campus first.

Best Student Government—Honorable Mention (Community College)
     Seminole Community College SGA members, led by sophomore Lee LeBlanc, deserve a pat on the back for improving communication on campus to promote more student involvement and helping to better define the roles of SGA members. Participation is on the rise in campus leadership workshops and a lecture series, the highlight of which was an SGA-funded speech by Mohammed Bilal of the MTV Real World San Francisco cast. LeBlanc and company also initiated a discussion about campus smoking areas after hearing several student and faculty complaints, and worked to improve library access, food quality, internet services, and lighting. The SCC bunch also watches its $16,000 purse strings with strict guidelines that outline exactly what can and cannot be purchased with SGA monies. However, SGA still took programming seriously with events like Club Rush ’97, a Mexican Fiesta Party, and a Jammy Jam party to benefit a canned food drive and gifts for teens.

Best Student Government (Public University)
     Led by current student body president Keith McDonald, who gets high marks from administrators for being "a person of integrity—he’s so fair with everyone," the 1997-98 University of Central Florida Student Government Association gets the nod for being the best across-the-board among public universities. UCF’s campus leaders get extra credit for reengineering themselves from the ground up after an administrative shutdown in March 1996, despite being named best in the state by Florida Leader in 1995.
     In response to their institution’s growing enrollment and reputation, UCF’s SGA instituted several new programs to develop tradition and increase public recognition. A full week of fall Homecoming events included headliner comedians, an alumni golf tournament, a ‘Spirit Splash’ pep rally at the school’s reflecting pond, and a late-night "Hullabaloo’ at the new student union.
     Before each home football game, SGA sponsors a ‘Spirit Day,’ providing food, promotional items, and entertainment. Free game-day bus rides to the Citrus Bowl and the First Annual Mid"knight" Madness were other new initiatives SGA tackled to increase school pride.
     To better serve students, SGA opened the SG Copy Shop to provide discounted copies. Forty new computers make it easier for students to do class assignments, send e-mail, and surf the web. SGA also lobbied to keep the Student Academic Resource Center library open 24 hours a day during midterm and final-exam weeks.
     SGA arranged for the use of school-owned vehicles for registered clubs and organizations, and successfully lobbied for a new 1,300-space parking garage, with another one on the way. SGA leaders also are looking into creating a campus shuttle system with discounted fares to help students get across campus on time.
     To pump up channels of communication between SGA and the student body, officers hold Town Hall and Knights of the Roundtable monthly meetings designed to put club and organizational leaders face-to-face with student body president Keith McDonald. To improve campus safety, the SGA increased the number of campus blue-light phones and expanded the Provide-A- Ride program, which provides crisis referral in addition to transportation for those students’ who drink but shouldn’t drive.
     Tightening expenditure guidelines and revamping the SGA web page are other projects ‘on the burner’ that will keep this solid group on track well into the next administration.

Best Student Government—First Runner-Up (Public University)
     Opening up channels of communication has been the hallmark of this student government. From monthly open forums to installing TV sets in each classroom on campus, the University of North Florida’s SG has strengthened both the breadth and depth of the services and programming it offers the student body.
     During each Senate meeting, officers hold open-comment forums to take students’ and administrators’ input. Surveys and ongoing one-on-one interaction are other ways SG officers keep their ears to the ground.
     Clamping down on operating costs and fostering campus recycling are two other priorities of Nelson’s tenure. SG reps use overheads instead of copying tons of handouts during meeting presentations, and they closely monitor the purchase of office supplies.
     Through the Saferide program, SG provides four golf carts staffed by volunteer drivers to transport students from campus buildings to their cars Monday through Thursday evenings, and increased the number of emergency phones to 64.

Best Student Government—Honorable Mention (Public University)
     A drive for continued improvement that directly impacts the bottom line in terms of cost efficiency, school pride, and closer communication with the student body has kept the University of South Florida’s SG among the best in recent years.
     To solve the new challenge of transporting students safely to the first-ever season of football games, SG co-sponsored, in cooperation with University Townhouse Apartments, 10 buses to take USF Bull fans to and from Houlihan Stadium for free.
     To further boost school spirit, SG declared Wednesdays as Student School Spirit days, and issues "Spirit Citations" to persons who forget to wear green and gold. The tickets are actually discount coupons to buy school gear at the USF Bookstore.
     Taping of Senate meetings by campus-group members increased student awareness of SG’s work and brought the action live to on-campus residents. Negotiating extended library hours for fall final exams and convincing the university president to provide a 1-800 hookup to university servers for commuter students to get on-line free were two examples of SG’s commitment to meeting student needs.

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