Since last semester, 11 Student Government Association senators have resigned, leaving the SGA Student Senate with a considerable void, according to Jaret Hubbell, SGA president. He said many senators who resigned did so because of conflicts with work and class and the need to focus more on work and academic studies.
“What it always is, pretty much, is that people have class conflicts,” Hubbell said. “They have a night class or need to focus on their studies more because their GPA dropped a little bit, and they want to pick it back (up). Or work. We obviously all need to work, and senators are just not paid for the work that they do.”
According to Hubbell, Alethea Washington, a business sophomore from Belle Rose and “great senator,” and Tameka Patterson, a general and family consumer sciences senior from Kenner, resigned because they were unable to attend all of the committee meetings, which is a requirement of an SGA senator. Hubbell said Damien Breaux, an athletic training sophomore from Lockport, resigned last fall in order to be appointed to the judicial board this semester and Penny “Eliza” Traigle, a government senior from Thibodaux, got “the fantastic opportunity” to work with the Women in Government program.
“This is a problem that we face every year in the SGA, and it’s pretty much in every student organization,” Hubbell said. “(Students) have obligations that they have to meet, and here (at Nicholls), you have to be a student first.”
Since the 11 resignations, three students have been appointed as senators, and the SGA currently has three applications for the positions, although many more are still needed.
According to the Nicholls SGA Constitution, for every 300 fee-paying students of a college, there is to be one senator from that college. In addition, five freshmen representatives are to serve as senators of that class, and nine senators are to be elected at-large from the student body.
“The culinary institute is currently not represented because of their low number of enrollments (compared to other colleges),” Hubbell said. “Kendall Tademy was the standing senator from the past (who is now resigned), but we have an applicant who I believe (will be or has been) interviewed and who will hopefully be appointed as the culinary senator. Even if the college fills, we have nine senators-at-large positions that need to be filled.”
Hubbell said a senator’s role and duties include being a voice for the students on and off-campus, in student life, in athletics; in all the different departments and programs on campus; making recommendations on behalf of the student body; ensuring that the student voice is heard at all University committees in which decisions are made on policies and events to be carried out; and allocating money that the SGA receives for other student organizations.
“(The senators) also keep me and the Judicial Board in line,” Hubbell said.
According to Hubbell, a student interested in being a senator picks up an application from the SGA office located in the Bollinger Memorial Student Union and returns it filled out along with a resume and letter of interest that indicates why he wants to be a senator and what he hopes to offer to the SGA. The SGA then sends the application to records and registration to ensure that the student meets the prescribed GPA and disciplinary requirements. Hubbell said if the student meets the minimum requirements, the application is sent back and Hubbell schedules an interview with the applicant.
“If (the applicant) is out-spoken, talented, has good issues or any combination of these factors, I’ll send (him) to our judiciary committee for review,” Hubbell said.
Hubbell said once that occurs, the motion is brought to appoint the student as a senator, and the Student Senate votes whether or not to place him in the Student Senate.
According to the SGA Constitution, in order to be eligible for the Student Senate, a student must be a fee-paying student carrying no less than nine semester credit hours, must maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA, have a semester GPA of 2.0 and not be on disciplinary or other University probation at the time of the election or appointment or throughout the term of office.
“It’s a good idea to be a senator because you get to have a say in where your money is going and you get to serve on the University committees,” Hubbell said. “The SGA recommends policy changes and sits on the oversight committee that governs the student self-assessed fees. The SGA always needs more input and always needs more diverse opinions. (Being a part of the SGA) is a way to help out people, our community and (your) family. It’s a way to help out strangers.”
A student applying for senator applies for as long as the current president is in office.
“We need people,” Hubbell said. “If you want to find out what’s going on with the recreation center or if you want to find out (about) certain events and programs that are going on with Women’s History Month, join the SGA.
