With poised postures and right hands raised, 12 more students were sworn into cabinet positions at the Student Government Association meeting on Sept. 30. Positions varied across branches and committees, but all of them took the same oath:

"I'm feeling pretty good about my position," said Christian Dunn, a junior sworn in as this year's Speaker of the House. "I love helping RSOs (Registered Student Organizations) get what they need."

Dunn is one of the twelve newly elected officials, and he hosted his first House of Representatives meeting that night. He said he's excited to work with RSOs, the Senate and his fellow representatives to pass legislation for the university.

Alongside him, the following students were elected and sworn in:

Emilee Diemer, Senator for the College of Arts and Media
Madison Coleman, Chief Associate Justice
Isa Caraballo, Clerk and Speaker Pro Tempore of the House (if Dunn isn't present, Caraballo will led meetings)
Drea Hammond, Senate Leader
Gabriel Camp, Student Budget Allocation Committee (SBAC)
Trevor Muchabaya, SBAC
China Hill, SBAC
Andrew Chapman, SBAC
Ethan Kindle, SBAC
Jessica Carnarvon, SBAC Hardship Committee
Andrew Ward, SBAC Hardship Committee

Additionally, SGA Vice President Aashka Barot said positions are still open for senators and for elections committee members.

A civics lesson

Central Civics visited SGA as a guest speaker to discuss the importance of voting and voter registration.

Norma Bailey is the founder of Central Civics, as well as its sister groups the Central Votes Coalition and the Central Votes RSO.

Bailey talked about the Ten Tuesdays events happening across campus, and discussed why it's important to vote, how to register to vote, the different ways you can vote and how to track absentee ballots.

She said the biggest reasons students should vote is to have a say in what happens around them, not just on the presidential level but for the House, Senate, and local levels. She also discussed the importance of knowing your candidates on all these levels.

"Everything else down the ballot affects you," Bailey said. "We need to be critical consumers of the information being provided to us ... so that you can make the decision based on your values."

She also discussed early voting, which starts on Oct. 26 and runs until Nov. 4. She said there will be an early voting polling place on campus in Powers Hall for students registered to vote in Mount Pleasant. She also encouraged students to become poll workers during this year's election, as it's both a paid position and its "part of being civically involved."

"Please be leaders," Bailey said. "Lead your RSO, your dorm room, whatever you need to lead, but be leaders and help everybody else. Do what we know you're going to do."

'Justice, fairness and equity': The judical branch begins

During the 2023-24 administration, SGA decided to create a judical branch that would help settle any disputes within the organization between members, committees or any legislative decisions. Similarly to the United States judical system, the branch would make decisions using the association's constitution and bylaws as a guideline.

The association is made up of a Chief Justice and four Association Justices. These members are as follows:

Coleman, Chief Justice (elected unanimously by the associate justices),
Christian Toney, Associate Justice
Allison Vander Slik, Associate Justice
Darnaysia Bellamy, Associate Justice and
Surth Bhowmick, Associate Justice

"I'm passionate about justice and the law, and I see the potential for this branch," Coleman said when elected as chief justice. "Justice, fairness, diversity, equity and inclusion is in everything that I do and everything that I learn, and I carry those values with me."

Coleman said the goal of the branch is to make decisions impartially using "justice, fairness and equity." She said her prior experience in the National Guard and as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director for the Residential Housing Association would help her in handling situations fairly.

Associate Justice Toney said he hopes the branch can benefit the student body, and that they can deal with some matters before they even reach the courtroom.

"This should be the time we deal with the internals," he said. "Learning the constitution and bylaws inside and out so we can interpret them."

SGA President Carolina Hernandez Ruiz said she's excited to see the direction the branch goes and looks forward to working with them to start the branch.

"You are literally setting the foundation for future years," she said. "You have the control and power to direct this in whatever way you want it to go, so go forth and do a good job."

In Other Events:

Committee meetings began on Monday. The meetings will take place around 8 p.m, after general board and before House and Senate meetings. Committee leaders introduced themselves and were assigned rooms to meet in.
Jessica Reinhart of Central Sustainability came to discuss some upcoming events her office will be holding, such as the campus farmer's market, an environmental movie night and a month long electronics drive. She said more events will appear in the month of October and more information can be found on their Instagram and webpage.
The seven Homecoming Maroon Ambassadors were introduced at the meeting. Hernandez Ruiz said the students were selected by Student Activities and Involvement for being "active leaders on campus." She said students can vote for the Gold Ambassador online next week from Oct. 7 until Oct. 11.