GUEST COLUMN: Speaker discusses the busy road ahead for SGA
Headshot of Josh Boman, SGA Speaker of the House
By Josh Boman
SGA Speaker of the House
The Central Michigan University Student Government Association House of Representatives has been working hard and making progress on behalf of CMU students.
In September 2023, I was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives. This was not a position I was aiming for, or even knew existed at that time. In my first SGA meeting representing the Towers Additions Council, I made a last-minute decision to throw my hat in the ring for selection as the Speaker of the House for the 2023-24 academic year.
To be honest, I was not expecting to be elected as a first-year student with no prior student government experience. However, never have I once regretted my decision to run. I’m glad I am here and am proud of our record so far, but even more excited about what is to come!
In the beginning of fall 2023, the House of Representatives was made up largely of new members to SGA who had never been there before. As we worked to hit the ground running, we passed House Resolution One (HR 1) which laid out a course for the rest of the fall semester and has guided us into the present as the spring semester is in full swing.
In HR 1, the House wrote a mission statement for the year ahead:
“We the Members of the House of Representatives of the Central Michigan University SGA are dedicated to fostering an environment of strong communication and connection with the student body, as well as encouraging the involvement of all students in order to solve the problems presented to us. We will strive to do this in an environment that aims to incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging.”
In striving to uphold our mission statement in terms of communication and connection with the student body, I would like to acknowledge and thank Courtney Boyd from Central Michigan Life for her great coverage of SGA and its actions. A free press that fairly, accurately and impartially reports on the actions of those in leadership positions is a key part to a successful government held accountable by the people it represents.
Furthermore, I’d like to take this opportunity to commend our Press Secretary, Christian Dunn, for his work specifically on the SGA’s social media sites. Christian works tirelessly to update the student body on the happenings within SGA.
The year hasn’t come without its setbacks, though. For the fall semester, as a new Speaker it was as if I couldn’t seem to get projects off the ground and running. However, as students returned to Mount Pleasant for the spring semester, the House had a good amount of turnover with its members.
We welcomed new members from RSOs that hadn’t been previously represented, as well as new representatives for RSOs whose previous representatives had stepped down. My optimism has never been higher for the potential impact SGA can have on the lives of students here at CMU.
Late last semester, we created six “breakout groups,” similar to committees. These groups are Academic Procedures, Housing, Dining, Professor Performance, Maintenance and Classes. The groups and their missions were formed and decided upon by members of the House. Each week, they meet and discuss issues they see on campus, issues that are brought to their attention and issues I’ve heard about and referred to them for consideration.
Last week, each group selected a leader. I plan on meeting with the group of leaders regularly to check in on their progress towards discussion of issues and the legislation they plan to introduce to fix the issues they see on campus.
As reported this week in CM Life, the groups have been making progress on legislative proposals that will be introduced in the weeks ahead. The House looks forward to keeping students updated on our progress through our various social media platforms.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email at boman1j@cmich.edu, your RSO’s SGA Representative or anyone else in SGA if you have an issue on campus that you would like to see addressed.
Have a great remaining two weeks before spring break and Fire Up Chips!
Josh Boman is a first-year sophomore studying History and Spanish, who has served at the Speaker of the House since fall 2023.
