The future looks bright for ULM, or at least it does to the leaders of its Student Government Association. SGA President Calvin Stafford and Vice-President Jessica Richardson were elected last semester and say they have big plans for SGA and ULM.
Stafford, a senior speech-language pathology major from Alexandria, said he wants students to know that SGA is here for all of them. He thinks that in years past it may have seemed like SGA only represented a select group of students, but says that is going to change this year.
“I feel like in the last years that we’ve not been what we should be, and that is the voice of the students,” Stafford said. “I think we’ve been the voice of the executive officers. My biggest thing is that we do what the student body would have us do, and not just have our own agenda.”
Richardson said she wants the students to know that SGA does care, and they want to know what students think about university policies. She said she wants to hear students’ problems, whatever they may be.
“I think that if we held more forums, like when we have a big change like the referendum, I want them to know what’s going on,” Richardson says. “Our meetings are open but most students don’t know that, and no one wants to sit through an hour long meeting to just say one thing.”
Stafford said one way this year will be different than in the past is that senators will be seen more often around campus.
All senators have office hours they must do each week, but instead of sitting behind a computer, they will now be out of the office, meeting with students around campus, giving surveys and more.
Last semester SGA was hit with a minor scandal when the e-mail of then-president Brooke Dugas was hacked. Then there was the re-vote that had to be done because of glitches in the computer system. Stafford says the past is the past and that he is looking to the future.
“This isn’t for ourselves or our fraternity or sorority, this is for the students,” said Stafford. “Hopefully students will realize and see the difference [in this year’s SGA] and it will help improve the image of SGA.”
Richardson echoed Stafford in her response, saying the hacking incident is in the past and that she’s going to focus on making ULM and SGA a better place and organization.
“What happened last year was an incident that should have never happened, but it happened and it’s past us now,” Richardson said. “Most of those people are gone, so it doesn’t affect the new members of the senate.”
SGA has many big events planned for this year, including the popular Mardi Gras Ball in the spring semester and the Warhawk Dash in mid-September. Stafford and Richardson encourage all students to take part in campus and university events.
One thing Stafford and Richardson seemed eager about was this year’s Lyceum.
They wouldn’t say who SGA is considering yet, but Richardson said she was very excited when she heard the names of some of the potential speakers.
Richardson said she hopes this year to be a productive year and that she is looking forward to serving the students of ULM, whom she considers to be her family.
“We try to make decisions to make students want to come to us. Even if it’s something small like planting a flower bed, we try to make ULM a better place for students,” Richardson said.
