On Monday night, the Student Government Association at Central Michigan University held its first meeting of the semester. Bovee University Center Auditorium was filled with CMU students, Registered Student Organization (RSO) Representatives, previous and new SGA members.

The meeting highlights for tonight were focused on the Counseling Center, Senator Elections, the House and Senate meetings.

A speaker from Counseling Center

SGA had invited guest speaker Elizabeth Husbands, who is the Senate for Diversity and Inclusion dedicated counselor, to speak to the members about the Counseling Center resources available on campus.

This semester will be Husbands first fall semester here at CMU. Husbands works with the Counseling Center and the Multicultural Academic Student Services (MASS) office.

“I’m thrilled, really thrilled to have the opportunity to work with CMU students,” Husbands said. “I love nothing more than the vibrancy that you all bring and the excitement that so many people bring.”

A new start

SGA Vice President Ryan Biller has introduced SGA President Tyler Zimmerman to the podium to welcome the members of SGA and to swear in the cabinet.

“The start to a new academic year marks a fresh beginning and opportunity to build on our success from the past, learn from our experiences and create a campus community that thrives on unity, inclusivity and progress,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman also shared the agenda for the upcoming months.

“We work on initiatives to enhance campus life, support student wellbeing, foster academic excellence, and promote sustainability and safety,” he said.

Senate Elections

Biller opened up nominations for SGA Senators where a total of eight candidates had the opportunity to give a two minute speech and answer two questions from the audience.

Candidates tonight included: Vincente Vargas, Shreya Abraham, Madison Coleman, Carolina Hernandez-Ruiz, Autumn Lowe, Christopher Harrera, Drea Hammond and Nathan Welch.

The eight candidates were sworn into the Cabinet and were joined with the elected Senators from the 2023 Spring semester.

Announcements

In order for any announcements and public comments to be made for future SGA meetings, email SGA@cmich.edu on the Sunday before meetings with the subject titled either “Announcements” or “Public Comment," Biller said.

Biller went on to announce that there are position openings for the Police Oversight Committee, General Education Committee and three open positions for Academic Senate.

Biller also mentioned an orientation meeting for the Student Budget Allocation Committee (SBAC) to be held on Sept. 26 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Bovee UC Auditorium.

For more information on SBAC, contact Treasurer Natalie Brant at brant1ns@cmich.edu.

The general board meeting adjourned with the Senate and the House separating to begin the Speaker of the House Elections.

Speaker of the House Elections

Ashley Harvey, Speaker of the House the previous school year for SGA, is now working with Outreach and Engagement.

Harvey said the Speaker of the House position means leading the House meeting.

“It is a really cool opportunity to lead these (House) meetings, you’ll set the agenda and you really get to work with your peers … you get to help them, guide them and provide comments," Harvey said.

Harvey opened up the floor for nominations where three candidates had the opportunity to give a speech and answer questions from the audience.

The three candidates were: Evan Carlson, Cole Taylor and Joshua Boman.

After each candidate had given their speech, the House had the chance to vote resulting in Josh Boman becoming the newly elected Speaker of the House.

The next SGA Meeting will be held on Monday, Sept. 25, in the Bovee UC Auditorium where SGA will hold an Orientation for new SGA members. The agenda will consist of SGA’s bylaws and Roberts Rule of Order.