USAO’s Student Government Association, or SGA, is hosting an Election Day event. So, what is SGA, what does it do for campus, and how can students get involved?

The SGA is a student organization comprised of the executive board and the senate. The executive board includes the President, Vice President, Parliamentarian, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Senate includes two senators for each class (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior), one senator for each ward, (academic divisions), a senator representing students living off-campus, a senator at large, and a representative for the Student Activities Board, or SAB. The SGA is funded through the fees paid by USAO students.

“Our purpose is to act as the middleman between students and the university’s administration,” said Bret O’zee, SGA’s Parliamentarian.

“We are representatives of the students to the school. If a student wants something done, they can of course go directly to the administration, but there will always be a level of bureaucracy. With the SGA, we eliminate some of those levels,” Chandler Leamon-Webb, Treasurer, said.

This year, the SGA has 22 people running. This is about on par with the amount of people running last year but is still an extremely high number in SGA’s history.

“The amount of freshmen running is exciting,” Leamon-Webb said. “And the amount of people who applied immediately after applications opened is pretty amazing.”

The SGA writes legislation representing the wants and needs of the student body, and then hands off the legislation to administration. Administration can decide to enforce the legislation or veto it. Some legislation that has been written in the past includes a bill to make campus classrooms more accessible for people with disabilities, a Drover closet for students to take clothes from if needed, and a scholarship to be given to students who are working.

The SGA can also write resolutions, such as one written recently urging schools to take Title IX more seriously and has also written open letters. An open letter was penned recently from the SGA to Oklahoma Governor, Kevin Stitt, urging him to exonerate Julius Jones from receiving the death penalty.

In regard to the timing of bills being viewed and passed, it varies depending on the scope of the legislation. A bill regarding gender inclusive signing for bathrooms on campus was passed the first or second time it was brought up. Other bills that require more change or action may take longer.

If students have an issue they would like the SGA to address, they can go about it one of two ways. First, students can visit the exec board during their office hours, which are currently TBD, and speak with them directly. Second, a student can contact their ward senator to talk about the issue and let them address it.

Some students may be hesitant to join the SGA, especially if they are not in a major related to politics. According to O’zee, it is especially important for students from several different majors and paths to join and make a difference.

“Like it or not, every student is a part of the SGA,” O’zee said. “We represent the student body as a whole, so the SGA is a tool that is available for you to use to further your educational experience.”

“Also, the SGA needs the viewpoints of people from all over,” Leamon-Webb added. “Students who are not political science majors, or students that are not headed into law school have issues and views that those of us who are in political science would never think of. It’s important for them to be recognized too.”

Students interested in the SGA can attend meetings every Thursday at 11a.m., in Davis Hall 224.

Hannah Dudleson is a second-year English Education major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.