WWU Student Gets #Lobbylicious in Olympia
We recently had the opportunity to talk with Heather Heffelmire, the Legislative Liaison for the Associated Students of Western Washington University (ASWWU). In that position, she is spending the winter quarter in Olympia as a full-time lobbyist working on behalf of the students at WWU. She's been posting online about the experience under the hashtag #Lobbylicious. You can read her blog posts about lobbying here, here, here, and here.Read more
University of Iowa Crowdsources Project Ideas
We recently had the opportunity to interview a student leader from the University of Iowa Student Government about Iowa Ideas, their innovative new program to get the student body to share ideas about campus problems and how to fix them.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. Please also tell us a little bit about who you are: your year, major, any other background info you’d like to share.
My name is Jeffrey Ding and I am the Vice President of the University of Iowa Student Government. I am a junior studying political science, economics, and Chinese. I was born in Shanghai, China, and moved to the United States when I was three.
How did you get involved in UISG?
I was chosen as a freshman senator (five spots are reserved for first-years), so I was able to get involved right away.
Please describe Iowa Ideas. What does it do?
Iowa Ideas is a crowd-sourced idea generation site, which functions as a "Reddit" for initiatives to improve the University of Iowa. Anyone affiliated with the University of Iowa can contribute ideas to the site and vote up other ideas they think would be good to implement.Read more
Duke Uses Research to Be More Effective
The Duke Student Government (DSG) recently launched a new program, the DSG Research Unit, to study campus issues and help the DSG make more informed decisions on campus policies. We interviewed Abhi Sanka, the DSG Executive Vice President, to find out more about the research program.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. Please also tell us a little bit about who you are: your year, major, any other background info you’d like to share.
My name is Abhi Sanka and I am the current Executive Vice President of Duke Student Government. As Executive Vice President, my responsibility is to broadly oversee week-to-week management of Student Government’s operations, and preside over our Student Government Senate. I am a Junior at Duke, pursuing a major in Public Policy and a Certificate in Genome Sciences and Policy. This past summer I interned at the Institute of Medicine on the Roundtable for Translating Genomic Based Research into Health, and my academic passions lie in politics, health policy, and personalized medicine.Read more
Tips from an Outgoing SGA President
With the academic year coming to an end, we took this opportunity to interview Samantha Zwerling about her experience serving for the past two years as the president of the University of Maryland Student Government Association.
How did you get involved in the UMD Student Government?
When I came to college, I was looking for an environmental student group to join, so I got involved with MaryPIRG. MaryPIRG's funding was very dependent on their relationship with the SGA, so I started attending every SGA meeting. I became the Chapter Chair of MaryPIRG at the end of my sophomore year, and continued to work with the SGA. At the end of that year, I thought that I could make a big impact on the SGA and decided to run for president.Read more
The Big Event at Texas A&M
The Big Event is a community service event where college students spend a day completing volunteer projects for local residents as a way to say "Thank You" to the community. The event started at Texas A&M University and has now spread to over 100 colleges nationwide. Dozens of student governments organize The Big Event each year as one of their largest service programs.
We interviewed William Nereson, the director of The Big Event at Texas A&M, to find out more about this project.
Please tell us a little bit about who you are: your role with The Big Event, your year, your major, any other background info you’d like to share.
I am an Industrial Distribution major from Boerne, Texas, and a member of the Class of 2014. I have a twin brother. I have had the opportunity to be involved with The Big Event for all four years of college. I started my time in The Big Event as a Staff Assistant. For this year, I have served as the Director of The Big Event.
What is The Big Event? How did the event go in 2014?
The Big Event is the largest student-run service project in the nation. We had 20,503 students participate in The Big Event at Texas A&M in 2014. They completed almost 2,036 jobs in the community.Read more
UNC Works to Create Campus Food Pantry
We interviewed a leader from the University of North Carolina Student Government about the student government's efforts to establish a campus food pantry.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. Please also tell us a little bit about who you are: your year, major, any other background info you’d like to share.
My name is Roderick Gladney and I am a current junior Chemistry major, minoring in African, African American, and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Read more
UGA SGA Fights to Create Women's Center
We interviewed the Vice President of the University of Georgia Student Government Association to find out more about the group's campaign to establish a women's center on campus.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. Please also tell us a little bit about who you are.
My name is Uzma Chowdhury and I'm Vice President of the SGA. I am a senior English and Political Science Undergrad and Nonprofit Organizations Grad student.Read more
ASM's New Green Fund
We interviewed a leader from the Associated Students of Madison at the University of Wisconsin about an exciting new program they've created called the Green Fund.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. Please also tell us a little bit about who you are: your year, major, etc.
My name is Will Mulhern. I'm a sophomore studying Environmental Science and Environmental Studies. I am the current chair of the ASM Sustainability Committee.
How did you get involved in ASM?
I got involved with ASM during my Freshman year. I went to one of the first ASM Sustainability Committee meetings and I really fit in with everyone else there. From that point I decided to run for vice chair of the committee and I won. This past year I ran for chair and I won that as well.
ASBSU Tackles Guns on Campus
We had the opportunity to interview a leader from the Associated Students of Boise State University about their current legislative campaign to defeat a bill that would allow concealed weapons on campus.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. Please also tell us a little bit about who you are: your year, major, etc.
My name is Cassie Sullivan and I am the Vice President of the Associated Students of Boise State University. I plan to graduate this May with a degree in economics and a minor in political science. Upon graduation I will move to Washington, D.C., where I will pursue a career and graduate studies in international development.Read more
The FSU Street Team
We interviewed a leader at Florida State University's Student Government Association about their volunteer program, the SGA Street Team.
Please tell us your name and current position in student government. If you’re willing, please also tell us anything else that you think is relevant about who you are: your year, major, past student government experience, etc.
My name is Amy Nicotra and I serve as a senator for the College of Criminology. I am in my second term as a senator and as the chair of the Student Affairs Committee within Senate. I am a second-year student and began my journey in Student Government during the Fall of my first year on campus.
What is the FSU Street Team? What does the team do? How does it function?
The Student Government Association Street Team is a program offered by the Student Affairs Committee of the Student Senate. Any student in good standing at Florida State University may register to become a Street Team member. There is no application or fee required to join. Responsibilities of the Street Team vary from surveying students, representing SGA at various campus events, and gathering data for the purposes of improving the campus.Read more