SGA Closes its Chamber Doors for 2006-2007

It has been an eventful year in SGA to say the least. With over 60% of Senate comprised of new members, many challenges faced our ambitious group of students. But adjustments and accommodations were made, and we were able to complete various meaningful changes as well as provide the foundation for new ones to be made in the future. So given the fact that this organization exists to represent and advocate for students, here is a snapshot of how your Student Government Association has served the C-N student body this year. Most notably, thanks to the efforts of Chief Justice Nathanael Lee and the entire Senate, C-N students will soon be able to enjoy a game of disc golf at the new Mossy Links Disc Golf Course. Currently, this increasingly popular sport garners a great deal of participation from C-N students who participate through the intramural department as well as on their own, but due to limited resources, the course consists of sheets of paper taped on signs or trees around campus. Mossy Links, on the other hand, is based on a well thought out and intricately designed course by SGA Chief Justice Nathanael Lee and will include nine baskets located in various places around campus. "The new disc golf course represents one of SGA's most visible contributions to campus life in years. It takes an already popular sport and makes it available to everyone," Said Chief Justice Lee.

Additionally, SGA has provided over ten student organizations with much needed funds to assist in executing their events and furthering their goals. Betsy Dorn, President of Best Buddies, expressed her organization's appreciation of the funds, saying "The funds granted to us from SGA have allowed us to send the Buddy Director to the Best Buddies Leadership Conference this coming summer and because SGA was able to help us pay for the conference fee, Best Buddies has been able to fundraise for money that will directly affect the buddies!"

The Campus Life Committee of SGA was also able to provide students the opportunity to question and converse with campus personnel during forums held in the areas of food services, residential life, and maintenance. Through these forums and committee work, SGA discovered that students felt a need for changes in the realm of parking on campus. Thus, SGA immediately set to work to develop a new parking policy that better accommodates students without significantly inconveniencing faculty and staff. After multiple meetings with Tim Rogers, C-N's Director of Safety and Security, SGA was able to pass a resolution that would open up faculty and staff parking to students entirely on weekends and from 7pm-2am on weekdays. These changes are currently expected to take effect for the fall of 2007 and it is the hope of SGA that they will satisfy a significant need expressed by the C-N student body.

Similarly, after distributing a survey via campus mailboxes and e-mail, student opinion returned overwhelmingly in favor of a diploma change that would include a student's major on their diploma, as opposed to only the category of their degree. SGA took this to heart and is proud to announce that, beginning with this spring's graduating class, diplomas will feature the added information at no extra cost to graduates.

The year's projects have been many and the various successes have been achieved, but in addition to the measures that were both started and completed during the 06-07 year, SGA has various projects still underway that will carry over into next year's objectives. One such endeavor is "Project: Healthy Eagles" an SGA endorsed proposal to renovate the Student/Faculty Weight Room. These renovations would include converting one of C-N's current racquetball courts into a cardio room, equipped with treadmills, elliptical, bikes, and TV's for students to watch while working out. This would then allow the current weight room to be dedicated entirely to weight training equipment. Because this would be an extremely costly undertaking, the details on specific equipment, locations, and funding are still being discussed.

SGA President Harrell will officially turn over his title to the newly elected president in May, but in the meantime, he is enjoying the final weeks of his term. "It has been a real honor for me to hold this position and serve with the other SGA officers to better our campus and our community. SGA has had to adjust to some changes in the administration this year, but I see these changes as an opportunity for SGA to continue building upon its relationship with the C-N administration for a stronger Carson-Newman. " Said Harrell.