Best Student Government (Community Colleges)

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Best Student Government (Community Colleges)
     There must be a good leadership germ in the water at Valencia Community College. The Orlando college has maintained a stronghold on the best community college Student Government Association category for two years running. In 1999, VCC's East Campus took top honors, while this year, VCC-West, led by President Ray Gipson, came out of nowhere and nabbed the number-one slot.
     When the West Campus SGA leaders set goals, they’re not playing around. They wanted to get at least 500 students registered to vote and knew accessibility to the forms and polls was the way to go. After word got around about SGA's plans, instructors asked SGA officers to speak about the ways voting can make a difference. The team also set up information booths and paid for postage on voter-registration forms. Providing students with hassle-free access to influencing their school and country led more than 600 students to register. "The best part of it is when we all talk about how much we accomplished together," Gipson says.
     VCC-West's SGA also is concerned with students’ well-being. After conducting a survey, the Gipson administration concluded that smoking was one of the respondents' top concerns. Leaders brought the data to the attention of West Campus President Sanford Shugart, which led to a resolution establishing non-smoking areas on campus.
     This SGA not only provides VCC-West students with an education on different cultures through speakers and programs, but also makes a visual display of its commitment to diversity. A flag-dedication ceremony resulted in banners from 54 different countries represented by VCC students decorating the student services' building courtyard. SGA invited all clubs, students, and their families to an evening of games and educational lectures. "The event was extremely successful—close to 1,000 people attended," Gipson says. "The flags really brighten up the place."
     Being required to have your own computer is common at four-year universities, however many community college students rely on campus computer labs. Knowing this, SGA bought five new computers. "If we get more comments from students, we'll buy one more," Gipson says. "But so far, there haven't been any complaints." To allow more room for students working on class assignments rather than personal tasks, SGA also created an e-mail "check station" at the learning-center entrance.
     If students aren’t interested in joining SGA but still want to make sure the organization is doing its job, they can attend "Grill Your Senator." This bi-monthly event allows campus leaders to reply to students' questions and also lets them hear directly what students want.
     With a $20,000 annual budget, Gipson and crew are careful to offer programs that will have a high turnout by appealing to student needs and interests, says Victor Collazo, the student development coordinator. To give students more chances to participate, SGA added the First Annual Fall Festival as a fund-raising opportunity. Clubs had bake sales, apple-bobbing contests, and a cotton candy booth. Not only did SGA raise money through sales, but the leaders also decided if students wanted a prize, they had to work hard for it. To get a free school T-shirt, participants had to collect signatures from the host of each game in which they competed. If students did at least half of the events, the top was theirs.
     If this apathy-fighting magic didn't work, the Orlando leaders had one more trick up their sleeves. SGA members spoke to classes and posted meeting information and a calendar of events on bulletin boards, so there was no way anybody would be in the dark about group happenings. To encourage VCC students to give back, SGA offers a six-hour tuition reimbursement to involved students. "Most are pretty serious and already wanted to help, so I never really have to push the reimbursement," Gipson says. "I don't think it's even mentioned on the SGA application." So far Collazo has awarded 120 reimbursement hours. "It's nice though because it lets them know their hard work is appreciated," Gipson says.

Runner-Up
     At Indian River Community College, the Campus Coalition Government finds new solutions to fix old problems such as promoting healthy lifestyles and increasing involvement. Instead of having introductory meetings for incoming students and a refresher one for returning members, CCG hosted a Welcome Back Pool Party for everybody. Student Activities Counselor Tina Hart says this annual event attracts 400 guests, while campus leaders get hands-on experience as the coordinators. "This is the biggest campus event of the year, and it’s a project put on by participants at the Annual Student Leadership Conference," Hart says. Each conference attendee joined the publicity, food, entertainment, or cleanup committee. "Letters are even sent to local high school counselors inviting them to choose an involved student to participate," Elizabeth Mackey, CCG president says. CCG members weren't "all business" the whole time just because they served as hosts—they also got in on the belly-flop contests, water-volleyball games, and face-painting by cosmetology students.
     To promote responsible alcohol use, CCG along with Student Assistant Mentorship and the BACCHUS Club encouraged healthy living in an amusing way. During "Bactoberfest," students tossed eggs while wearing goggles to simulate drunkenness. A non-alcoholic drink taste test helped students incorporate responsible choices into everyday life. The juice and soda concoction "The Fruit Cyclone" won the BAC-tail contest.
     All of IRCC's club events are funded through CCG's lengthy budgeting process. "At first, club members are required to raise as much money as they can on their own through things such as candy sales," Hart says. Then the group submits a request for any additional funds the club may need to the CCG Executive Board which decides if they'll pass it on to Hart and the vice president of student affairs, who make the final decision. Hart says a "points request form" is turned in after the activity including the number of people who participated and how long it lasted to the College Activity Budget Committee which uses these reports to determine if they'll fund the projects in the future.
     Mackey also is a middle-woman between IRCC and what's going on around the rest of Florida. According to Hart, as the District II Coordinator for FJCCSGA, Mackey attends conferences and is well-informed on legislative matters and state issues.
     CCG also wants to help students move on successfully after college. CCG sponsored an etiquette series to assist students on learning how to present themselves professionally in public settings. "Mass e-mails and announcements drew in an average of 65 participants at each presentation," Mackey says. The three-part session included a guest speaker who covered travel and recreation, business, ballroom dancing, and formal dining behavior.

Honorable Mention
     Miami-Dade Community College-North has one of the nation's largest international student populations. But what happens when these people have enough money to make it to Miami but not enough to stay around long? SGA President Davien Fernandes-Jones says SGA hosted workshops and seminars focusing on issues that international enrollees may encounter such as financial instability, course loads, and stress. "They need to be given a sense of relief at times by congregating with others who have similar problems," Fernandes-Jones says. SGA members also helped research scholarship and grant information for international students and teamed up with the Inter-Cultural Student Association to start the International Student Scholarship Fund. The two groups began a weekly bake sale and other frequent fund-raisers to generate $1,500 in scholarships.
     Raising money is one way to fund programs, but SGA also is being picky on how to better use its $3,500 annual budget. Two representatives from each club sit on the "advisory council." "The council reviews the Student Life budget, makes recommendations for funds allocation and campus programming, votes on requests, and implements goals," Fernandes-Jones says. "In addition, the students who travel with Student Life funds must give back to the campus in different forms such as providing conference materials, creating workshops, and sharing new information with student organizations.
     "We work with the various campuses of Broward Community College, Edison Community College, Palm Beach Community College, and other MDCC campuses to formulate a comprised view that represents the needs of the majority of the students," Fernandes-Jones says. They then take these concerns such as Bright Futures Scholarship requirements and the 2+2 system and vote on them at the FJCCSGA conferences. Fernandes-Jones and his team also are lobbying for funds to repair facilities and continue beautifying colleges. "An appealing learning environment is necessary for the growth of our different learners," Fernandes-Jones says.
SGA not only focuses on getting foreign students involved, but it also makes sure the entire student body is included. SGA begins the year with the Welcome Back Blast, complete with food and a popular local radio station providing the tunes. Every month, they also host Lyric Lounge. "Each event has been focused on a different theme to show that we reach out and try to cover all aspects of life," Fernandes-Jones says. "One month we targeted the mind, body, and soul by playing relaxing music to veg out to during finals week." To help keep non-traditional students informed, SGA keeps longer office hours, speaks to evening classes, and spends one day weekly in heavy walking traffic areas to answer questions. For those who don’t have time to sit and chat, SGA promotes its web page at www.studentorg.com, which features an on-line book exchange, a monthly calendar of events, executive board bios, and a mailing list for meeting minutes.

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