SGA elects new house speaker, senate leader
The Student Government Association has a new house and senate leader.
Midland senior Anna Owens was elected senate leader while Belding junior Cody Van Buren was made house speaker Monday.
Owens, a senior from Midland, said she plans to emphasize follow-through with senate projects so that more are completed instead of never developing out of the idea stage.
“I want to make sure we do not have so much fall-through,” Owens said. "If senators are passionate enough about their project, they will follow through."
Each senator is required to choose a project to work on for the duration of the semester. This project can be about anything, including bills they would like to bring before SGA to enact a potential change. Owens said projects are ideally about something senators are passionate about.
After the election, SGA President Ian Elliott gave a demonstration to house members on past legislation. The point, Elliott said, is to show new members what senators can do with their projects and how they might benefit campus.
Elliott brought up a bill passed by SGA and the Academic Senate last year that modifies short-term leave policies for student veterans. Its purpose is to allow for veterans to be able to continue their academics without failing a course due to absences, if placed on active duty.
The bill is currently on the desk of President George Ross, waiting either to be signed or vetoed.
"The student legislative process is very much alive if students want to engage," Elliott said.
One of SGA's main focuses this year is to recruit more organizations on campus to get involved in student governing process. Owens said the organization wants to be able to say they represent the voice of all students, not just certain factions on campus.
