SGA celebrates 95th birthday, talks accomplishments
Celebrating its 95th year, the Student Government Association kicked off the start of their 2015-2016 year with a birthday party in the basement of the Bovee University Center.
While some students on campus question the necessity of having a student government on campus, without their continued assistance the university would not be what it is today SGA President Chuck Mahone said in the night’s opening speech.
“SGA is actually the organization who got the SAC built, and while obviously we’re not the ones who funded it, we showed through over half of the campus’ votes that this (activity center) was a need that students wanted,” Mahone said.
Through petitioning and meetings with the Board of Trustees, the SAC would go on to be built in 1990. But even prior to that, SGA would be involved in not so much of a physical change as a cultural one.
Former University President, Charles Anspach, left the decision to desegregate fraternities and sororities in the hands of SGA. Mahone said it was left to the will of the then-SGA President of the 1960’s to determine if integrated Greek Life was what the students of CMU wanted.
“Since (fraternities and sororities) are now segregated we can see that which choice the president made but because he made those decisions, his car and house were broken by (people) who didn’t think that (integration) was acceptable back then,” he said. “To know that SGA had a hand in desegregating fraternities, something of that magnitude, its ridiculous.”
Both new and returning members of SGA echo Mahone’s sentiment.
Kennedy Stone, senator for the College of Science and Technology, will be serving her first year in the Senate. To know that such a legacy proceeds her, she said, is nerve-wracking.
“This is my first year and it makes me nervous that I might not fulfill what the people before me have done,” Stone said.
Press Secretary Kyle Cortez said that his own personal motivation for continuing SGA’s legacy is to make sure campus is “left better than we found it.”
“SGA is all about students making real changes that are going to benefit both current students and will impact future students as well,” Cortez said.
Regardless of her feelings, Stone said that getting involved with student government was one of the best decisions of her life.
“It’s really awesome to hear people talk about what we’ve done because it really makes you think ‘Well, what have I done,’” Stone said. “You could just spend your four years here just worrying about your grades, or I could do all that and also get involved.”
