The Student Government Association (SGA) senate convened in the Student Union for its first meeting of the new school year — which also happens to be the 100-year anniversary of SGA. The meeting, which was focused on introducing senate executives and outlining expectations for the year, commenced with some words from Chancellor Donde Plowman.
Chancellor Plowman focused on discussing the role of student leaders within the infrastructure of UTK and also emphasized the responsibility that accompanies being a student leader.
“Leadership is not simple to do. It’s the willingness to act, to step forward and have an idea, have a suggestion, identify the problem and make someone feel better who’s feeling bad,” Chancellor Plowman stated.
She also thanked SGA for granting her the opportunity to lead at UTK and outlined her plans to foster a better relationship between staff and students, particularly by remaining visible and accessible to students. She discussed some of the issues that were brought to her attention over the summer.
“Another thing that I heard from people who came to see me was, we need to rebuild trust, and I’m pushing at, what does that mean? I want you to help me with that,” Chancellor Plowman said. “In what way has the trust been broken between administration and students?”
The senate presented Chancellor Plowman with a proclamation to honor her and thank her for the work she has already done on campus.
New and returning members of the Student Government Association Senate take a moment to pose for a picture during the first meeting of the 2019-2020 school year on August 27, 2019.
Next, the senate heard from student body president Natalie Campbell. Campbell, a senior who has been involved in SGA since her freshman year, also took a chance to discuss the responsibility of being a student representative.
She explained that what it truly means to be a representative to your constituents extends beyond simply being the voice for others who have had similar experiences.
“I think there’s a difference between speaking on shared experience and actually representing someone, because when you represent someone, you have gotten their kind of permission by our democracy of elections to take up their concern, to do something about it to make a difference, and that is weighty. That’s serious. You have an obligation, you have accountability,” Campbell said. “It’s a big deal, and we should take it seriously.”
Campbell described how the seriousness of SGA’s responsibility was first emphasized to her during her freshman year, when another member of the association told her that one should never run for student body president without the main and most important goal of providing representation for the student body; the desire to represent should be one’s focal motivation to run.
Student Body President Natalie Campbell greets new and returning members of the Student Government Association as they set the expectations of what the 2019-2020 school year will bring during the first SGA Senate meeting on August 27, 2019.
Campbell also explained that acting to provide representation should always remain a top priority for senators.
“We should constantly be pursuing students with an eagerness and a thirst to know their experience, to bring their experience here and make it better, and I think that that is really empowering,“ Campbell stated.
She then distributed lapel pins featuring SGA’s new logo, designed specifically to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of SGA. She asked the senate to wear these pins as a reminder of the weight of the responsibility they hold to serve the student body.
The remainder of the meeting was spent introducing dozens of members who hold special positions within the senate or SGA as a whole, as well as discussing new policies that will be implemented this school year.
These include two programs called Cookout with Constituents and Coffee with Constituents, both of which will grant the student body opportunities to meet and interact with their representatives over food and drink. Additionally, the senate discussed expectations for attire and attendance and voted to pass their $47,000 budget.
