Best Student Government (Public Universities)

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Best Student Government (Public Universities)
     The University of West Florida's Student Government Association set out on an odyssey in search of ways to improve the campus by using technology effectively and increasing non-traditional student involvement. The Argonauts' voyage resulted in Florida Leader naming it best public university student government for the first time.
     UWF's SGA leaders also are doing their best to deliver remedies to students' complaints. The group proposed an improved grading scale by sending 500 e-mails and distributing 300 surveys to students. Close to 98 percent of respondents said the new plan, which no longer includes minuses, was better. The Faculty Senate later approved a scale that only issues marks such as a B+ or B.
     SGA and student affairs decided to change the image of peer pressure by using it to achieve something positive. To help students realize they don’t have to drink to fit in, SGA introduced the Alcohol Reform Committee in which peers judge students for drinking violations. "We're looking at ways to reach the students without preaching to them," says John Hosman, two-term SGA president.
     With a minority enrollment of only 15 percent, SGA tries to attract more multicultural students by speaking to kids from local high schools with large minority populations. SGA hopes the recruitment tool will result in greater student involvement. "Students will want to participate, because they see others like themselves around campus," Hosman says. SGA also makes sure there’s plenty to do for current minority and international students. "We take it for granted, but pizza is foreign to international students, so one night we invited them to come eat different types," Hosman says.
     An average student age of 26 hasn't stopped UWF's SGA from doubling in size and getting scholars involved. SGA motivates older students with careers and families to participate through a variety of events such as a Maya Angelou lecturer and by offering activities at different times of the day.
     The Big Argos/Little Argos mentoring program is one of UWF's most successful projects. At-risk fifth grade children from two local schools paired up with SGA members and athletes for a day of bonding and education last November. The kids participated in tours of the library, computer lab, and science lab, which included interactive experiments and presentations. The children also hiked an educational nature trail, chatted with basketball players, and recharged with a free lunch. According to Hosman, the 180 fifth graders took home more than free T-shirts and nametags, because the SGA office got more than 60 thank-you letters, and some of the children still meet with their mentors. Hosman also says the school board volunteered to pay for the grade-schoolers to visit their new college pals again in March.
     Instead of making first-year students wait before becoming involved, Hosman and his team introduced the freshmen senate. The group has separate meetings where the 13 members discuss ways to get new students to participate. Each freshman senator works on one of three main Senate committees—academic, finance, or student relations. "The senate helps plan events that pull freshmen in," Hosman says. "One of their projects was a swing dance."
     SGA's limited budget hasn't stood in the way of planning booming events such as the "Millennium Mayhem" homecoming. "Organizations submit budgets to the finance committee in early spring for review, and then the board funds the groups accordingly," Hosman says. After all of the disbursements, SGA is only left with seven percent or $82,000 of the activity and service budget. SGA also educates student groups about appropriate spending through workshops.
     Students can read all about current projects, weekly meeting agendas and updates, semester goals, and the governing constitution and statutes at the SGA web page, http://www.uwf.edu/~sga/. The on-line voting system that automatically tallies anything from students' opinions on parental notification for drinking violations to SGA election ballots, is another timesaving tool. The program also reports statistical facts and allows leaders to solicit feedback through surveys.

Runner-Up
     At the University of North Florida, Student Government Association leaders have worked to strengthen their relationship with the school’s new president and stretch their $2,204,088 annual budget. President Alexander Diaz isn't neglecting the school’s projects while he's running for state representative serving Miami. In fact, he’s doing the opposite by pushing the organization to be one of Florida's best.
     This group knows the importance of working with administrators to achieve goals. Diaz and staff have been discussing ways to better the university with President Anne Hopkins since she took office last fall. "The president and vice president, in addition to other SGA leaders and representatives, constantly work to bridge the gap and more effectively address problems between the administration and the students," says Tina Carper, SGA director of public relations.
     School leaders probably would be shocked if they didn't have to discuss apathy. According to Carper, UNF is composed of 80-percent non-traditional students who have families and jobs and usually take evening classes, which makes it difficult to get them enthusiastic about campus activities. As Diaz says, "SGA tries to appeal to the non-traditional enrollees by bringing in speakers such as Ellen DeGeneres’ mom Betty." Projects such as Student Appreciation Day also allow SGA to show student activists how much their participation benefits the school.
     Not having a football team isn’t stopping the Osprey organizers from cheering on all their athletic teams such as softball, tennis, golf, and basketball. This fall, a first-ever pep rally included free snacks and door prizes for 300 students and community members who came to support the teams' players. Carper says SGA hopes to have pep rallies every year to work towards their goal of boosting pride and attendance.
     "The hardest thing to do with SGA is fighting apathy within to get little jobs done," Diaz says. When students returned for the fall semester, they couldn’t help notice all the work SGA had done with their "We Brought it to You" campaign. The bright pink "While You Were Out" phone-message flyers posted around the university grabbed students' attention. SGA skipped past the "telephoned you" and "call back" options, and checked the "revamped your college" box. The organization included a list of their achievements in the message area of the memo such as the new computer lab, a walking path, ethernet connections, extended office hours, and a four-level parking garage.

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