President Davies attends final SGA meeting of 2018-19 academic year
President Bob Davies welcomes SGA President Jake Hendricks on the stage at the final SGA meeting of the spring semester after they spent the day in each other's shoes on Monday, April 1 in Bovee University Center Auditorium.
Student Government Association President Jake Hendricks had an interesting April Fools’ Day.
At 8:30 a.m., he was sworn in and took on Central Michigan University President Bob Davies’ role, title and infamous fedora. Hendricks attended numerous meetings, toured the CMU Resource Center, learned about university functions and had dinner with a donor.
Davies faced a similar switch, assuming the role of SGA President. He attended Hendrick’s usual Monday classes and met with various student leaders.
“I have to admit: At 4:30 a.m., I woke up and I looked outside and I was hoping there would be four or five or six inches of snow,” Davies said, “because then that phone call on (whether or not) to open or close campus would have gone to Jake.”
During the April 1 SGA meeting, Davies shared a few brief remarks, commending the organization, before stepping down as SGA President.
"When you think about a university, nine out of 10 times, people will talk about the buildings and facilities and grounds," Davies said. "But what truly makes a university is the people. It's how the faculty, students and staff work together between and among each other, and (SGA is) an essential part of it."
Since this was the final SGA meeting of the 2018-19 academic year, Hendricks, vice president Lyndi Rose, cabinet members and SGA leaders reflected on the past year’s initiatives and legislation.
“(SGA has) done so many things this year,” Hendricks said. “And we’re really looking forward to doing those things next year, continuing initiatives and partnering with President Davies because they’ve shown an outstanding effort to really reach out and build a partnership.”
Some of the pieces mentioned in the showcase included the tampon initiative, the “Stamp Out Aggression” campaign and the weather policy revision legislation.
Committee chairs also presented their projects, such as the Diversity Committee’s “Speak Your Peace” dialogue, the Sustainability Committee’s Ponder open mic night and the RSO Growth and Development Committee’s “Let’s Get Life Smart” event.
Although the focus was on the year’s progress, future projects were brought up as well, with Hendricks and Rose sharing their plans for the upcoming academic year.
Senate Leader Caroline Murray also presented SGA’s Senate, with individual senators sharing their passions and projects.
“I was really thankful for (passing the commencement ticket legislation), but what I'm more thankful for is the year I've gotten to spend with such a wonderful, genuine, passionate group of individuals," Murray said, referring to the senators.
The meeting wrapped up with a "thank you" from Hendricks and Rose, recognizing all SGA members for their involvement on campus.
“Thank you so much for your time on SGA and your commitment," Rose said. "The work you guys have put on just made our jobs worth it, and we're so excited to come back. I'm really sad this is our last meeting, but I'm excited to move forward next year."
