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Students Can Have a Say Through SGA

Posted: October 19, 2011 Amy Radik

 Fulton-Montgomery Community College’s Student Government Association (SGA) is a group of student leaders, voted into office by their peers, who represent FM’s student population as a whole.  Basically, they are the “voice” of all students, sharing concerns and ideas to campus administration to assist with enhancing the educational and extracurricular offerings at FM.

 “We have some key goals this year,” says SGA President Marie Thomas.  “The SGA Executive Board is a brand new, fresh group of students who are committed to making positive changes for FM and its students.”  One of these goals, Marie tells us, is an eco-friendly FM campus.  “We would like to see hydration stations placed throughout the campus,” says Marie, explaining that the hydration stations are similar to water fountains, allowing students to actually fill and refill water bottles rather than continuously try to tip their bottle under the small water fountain nozzle or have to purchase more plastic bottles.

 “We’d also like to see the outdoor lights on-campus replaced with 40 LED inserts rather than the 70 LED inserts which are now in place,” says SGA Student Trustee Frank Ryan, Jr.  “This is being done in Los Angeles and it is saving the city thousands of dollars.  It’s eco-friendly and it will save the campus a lot of money.”

 The group of leaders, including Vice President Busch Brock, Secretary Sarah Puffer, Treasurer Gina Terrell, Freshman Senator Ashley Horning, and Sophomore Senator Son Nguyen, were all in agreement with making FM a completely smoke-free campus.  “We know there will be some opposition to this but we are thinking of the general health of the entire campus community,” says Son.  “We’re making efforts to bring this to fruition.”

 On-campus accessibility is also at the forefront of SGA’s goal listing for the year. “As a nursing student, one of my classes included seeing what it is like to be in a wheelchair or on crutches for a day,” says Sarah.  “And although FM does meet the standard requirements for New York State regarding accessibility for disabled students, there is still more that can be done.  We need to make everyone aware of the challenges disabled students face and do what we can to improve facilities for them.  We will be hosting a ‘Disability Awareness Day’ in the very near future.”

“We definitely want students and the campus community to know that we (SGA) exist and are doing what we can to make changes for the better at FM,” says Marie.  “We are charging ourselves with becoming more visible to the campus community and would like to have more communication with campus leadership.” 

 Part of this is accomplished through SGA’s monthly senate meetings in which clubs and organizations send a representative (or senator) to discuss and vote on expenditures and events.  The group also has monthly lunch meetings with FM President Dr. Dustin Swanger and Vice President for Student Affairs Jane Kelley to be sure all are on the same page with new ventures and ideas.

 “We will work every day to earn students’ trust and serve with the utmost integrity,” says Marie.  “We welcome feedback and suggestions from anyone who’d like to share with us.”  To contact FM’s SGA Officers, email them at sga1@fmcc.edu or call 736-FMCC, ext. 7-2402.

Amy Radik is Coordinator of Public Relations & Marketing at FM.

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