Spring SGA Newsletter

SGA Spring Town Hall

On Tuesday, April 2nd SGA held its Spring Town Hall where representatives from different offices around campus addressed the questions and concerns of students.   This year SGA decided to incorporate social media as another way for students to ask their questions during the Town Hall.  Students were able to tweet at SGA’s twitter account @Stonehill_SGA and use the hashtag #SGATownHall2013. In addition, the SGA Executive Board kept a suggestions box in the cafe for students to write down questions beforehand and then used those questions as a starting point for issues during the Town Hall.

The Town Hall started off with updates from SGA, focus groups, the strategic planning committee, and the Grab the Green Initiative.  We also heard a presentation on sustainability efforts that are currently taking place at Stonehill.

Some issues that came up at the Town Hall included water pressure in the residence halls, parking and transportation stipends for internships, the recent thefts in the library, merit aid scholarships, and more.  One very interesting conclusion that came from the Town Hall was that it is illegal to kayak on Ames Pond.

Below is a link to the google doc of the mintues taken at the Town Hall if you are interested in a more detailed summary of the Town Hall:

Town Hall Minutes

If you have any questions or concerns about issues raised at the Town Hall or just in general, feel free to contact any SGA Executive Board member or stop by the SGA Office downstairs in the Commons. 

Upcoming April Events!

This coming April SGA has many important events happening! Below are the list of events-

1. SGA Town Hall

• Tuesday, April 2nd 5:30 PM Commons A

The SGA Town Hall is held as a way for students to bring up question, concerns, suggestions, and even positive things they see at Stonehill to representatives from different offices across campus.

This year SGA is utilizing twitter as another way for students to bring up these things- students are going to be able to tweet their concerns, etc. at @Stonehill_SGA both before and during the Town Hall.  We also encourage you to use the hashtag #SGATownHall  

2. SGA General Elections Nominations

Nominations for SGA General Elections open this Thursday, April 4th

The nominations sheet will be located outside of the SGA Office in the Commons and at the SGA Open House.

3.  SGA Open House

• Friday, April 5th 7:30 PM Commons A

The Open House is an event for students to come learn about what SGA has been working on all year long.  Each committee will have a presentation on what they have done this year and then will give out raffle tickets for some sweet prizes! 

The Open House will also have the nominations sheet for SGA General Elections.  This is a perfect opportunity for someone who is interested in running for a position or joining a committee as an ad hoc or general member to hear and learn from the committees and members themselves!

There will also be music from WSHL and an ice cream sundae bar!

Meet Next Year’s Executive Board!

Congratulations to next year’s Executive Board who were elected last week! They will be inducted into their positions at the end of the semester.

President- Jess Beliveau, ’14

Vice President- Mary Charlotte Buck, ’14

Major- Religious Studies & Spanish
Hometown- Andover, MA
Campus Involvement- Peer Mentor, ABS leader, ITS volunteering, Queen of the Information Desk
Favorite Memory of Stonehill- Meeting my friends freshman year!
Fun Fact- I have baby siblings who are 20 years younger than me!

Treasurer- Ryan Perkins, ’14

Secretary- Catie Grasso, ’14

Finance Chair- CJ Bradford, ’14

Diversity Chair- Kadian McNeil, ’14

Why run for SGA Executive Board? Hear from the Current E-Board!

The current SGA Executive Board members tell why they decided to run for E-Board and what they love about being on E-Board!

Courtney Beauregard- Executive President

I cannot believe that a whole term has already gone by. When I decided to run for Eboard last Spring, I could have never imagined what I would have gotten from this whole experience. I decided to run because SGA had already done so much for me in the past three years that I had attended, that I wanted to give back to SGA and this community. I decided that how I wanted to give back was by running for SGA Executive President. I wanted to take a lead in this school to create positive change and an inclusive atmosphere. I never thought that it would change me as much as it did. I feel more confident in my ability to lead, as well as am so thankful for the people that I was able to meet along the way. I am also grateful for the other Executive Board members because my favorite part of the job has been working with them on new ideas and projects.

Lauren Melaugh- Executive Vice President

When I decided to run for Executive Vice President, I was excited to get more involved on campus and learn more about the inner workings of Stonehill. As a freshman, I always looked up to the Executive Board as positive role models who were truly concerned about the well being of the College and this motivated me to want to run for this position. I have changed so much since my freshmen year due to the opportunities that Stonehill provides and I saw running for E-Board as an opportunity to give something back to the school I love.

While I was extremely excited to run for the position last spring, I still did not know how much I was going to love this opportunity. I have been able to meet and become closer to the administration and other students. I have challenged myself in ways I never could have imagined and learned more about how I act as a student leader. SGA E-Board certainly demands hard work and dedication, but it also has been one of the most enriching experiences I have had at Stonehill.

Terry Rose- Executive Finance Chair 

Running for the Executive Board is not the easiest decision but it can be the most rewarding experience at Stonehill.  I have been involved with SGA since freshman year when I was elected as class treasurer and held the position through my sophomore year.  Being a class treasurer, I was already with the Finance Committee and enjoyed the work I was doing.  At the end of my sophomore year, I wanted to make a bigger presence and difference on our campus.  After asking the current E-Board members at the time about what they worked and about the time commitment, I considered my own schedule filled with: classes, homework, ultimate disc, a work-study job, and being a tutor.  I decided to dive in and won the election for Executive Treasurer.  There is no point in hiding that these positions do not have a time commitment, but you get to work alongside great classmates you may never have met, administrators that always have a good joke on hand, and of course find out the big secrets before the rest of campus.  These positions will help you to excel in time management and master the transition of laughing with friends to presenting in front of the Board of Trustees minutes later.  After a successful year, I decided to run again but this time for Executive Finance Chair and have enjoyed this position just as much as the Executive Treasurer.  My favorite project was the restructuring of SGA class committees and programming last year, which the average student may not notice, but they have helped Student Government be more productive and focused this past year.  If you are even considering, I would recommend talking to any member of the Executive Board to find out more about the position you are thinking about.

Melissa Beaumont- Executive Secretary 

I decided to run for SGA Executive Board after being a part of SGA for my freshman and sophomore year at Stonehill.  I never had the most important position in SGA, but I just loved being a part of SGA then and knew I wanted to take that extra step of becoming more involved by running for E-Board.  When I was interning in Washington, D.C. I finally decided to run for Executive Secretary and won, even though I wasn’t on campus.

Since I’ve been on E-Board, I loved the entire experience.  I personally have loved being in charge of the social media of SGA- using the SGA Blog, Twitter, and Facebook to publicize SGA events. Throughout being on E-Board, I’ve seen myself grow to become more confident and better at managing my time, even thought I am a huge procrastinator!  I’ve loved working with the other members of the E-Board and the administration. It’s definitely been my favorite part of being a part of the E-Board!

E-Board is definitely a challenging position, but the rewards I’ve gained from the position are worth it!

Matt McCormack- Executive Treasurer 

To be honest, SGA wasn’t even on my radar around this time last year.  A friend nominated me, so I went to the initial candidates’ meeting just to see what it was all about.  As I got further into my junior year, I realized that I truly have only one more shot at this and that I needed to make it all count.  SGA seemed to me to be the best possible outlet to give back to the community that has given me so much.  Obviously the position is a huge resume builder, but my biggest take-away from the whole experience is the relationships I’ve developed with the other E-Board members.  Probably my favorite event so far was the Class of 2016 elections.  Being the biggest class in school history, it was great to see all of the positions so contested.  Really, all of the work we’re doing now is helping to lay a foundation for all of the underclassmen to carry forward next year.

January/February SGA Newsletter

December SGA Newsletter

November SGA Newsletter!

Town Hall Follow-Up!

Last Wednesday, SGA held it’s Town Hall meeting where students and administrators came together to discuss any issues, questions, or concerns.

Before the question and answer section of the Town Hall began, SGA and the Planning Committee gave updates.

First, Executive Vice President Lauren Melaugh gave updates on the Senate Focus groups.  The following are the focus groups and the contact SGA members for each group:

• Parking-   Jackson Reilly
• Operational Hours-   Billy O’Donnell
• Space Improvements-   Nick Culbert
• Environmental Initiatives-   Lindsey Beauregard
• Commuter Life-   Brett Gammon

Next,  Executive Diversity Chair Julie Kelly presented on the Revised Inclusion & Bias Protocol.  Here are some key points from her presentation:

• Pro-Social Bystander training is now available
• There is a re-launch of the red shirt campaign- students are welcome to sign or re-sign the bystander pledge located in the SGA office and receive a red bystander shirt if they do not have one already

Lindsey Beauregard, President of the Class of 2013 presented on the Planning Committee, which deals with long-term and strategic planning.  They have 6 questions they are currently using to guide their efforts:

• Catholic identity
• Who will be enrolled?
• The changing environment
• Outcomes as a university
• Organization
• Resource growth

In addition, the Planning Committee is working on a sustainability plan that includes:

• Creating a public plan
• Changing from oil to gas heat, using energy saving light bulbs and shower heads
• Hiring an outside energy manager

Last, Executive Treasurer Matt McCormack presented on the new structure of SGA that was put into place last year:

• The Programming committee now serves in an advisory manner, is made up of only elected members
• Class committees are longer focused on programming, but on addressing issues specific to their class
• Class Committee now includes a programming rep, diversity rep, campus ministry rep, athletics rep, two at-large members
• Vice President has changed to include the role of treasurer
• Publicity Coordinator and secretary are combined in one role as Communications Coordinator

After these updates, the Executive Board members went on to facilitate the question and answer section between students and faculty.  The section was split into three different topic areas that included academics, resources, campus and student life, and then ended with an open floor section. Some of the issues that came up ranged from questions on the first-year writing seminar or problems with required classes only being offered one semester to issues about sustainability or the availability of counseling and testing.

During the next few weeks, SGA and the college faculty and staff will take a look at the notes taken at the Town Hall meeting and see what issues can be resolved quickly and what issues will need some long term work on.  They will send out a campus-wide email addressing the results of the Town Hall.

Town Hall Meeting!

This Wednesday, SGA is holding its first Town Hall meeting of the year at 6:30 PM in Commons A/Quiet Cafe.

The Town Hall is held every semester to serve as a way for students to bring up questions, concerns, and ideas they have about Stonehill.  Also, this is a great chance to bring up something you think is going really well or working for Stonehill!

Representatives from different offices will be present to discuss these issues and concerns with students.  Some examples of administrators who will attend include President Father Mark Cregan, Vice President for Student Affairs Father John Denning, and Police Chief Peter Carnes.

The Town Hall really is a great way to voice your opinion and your opinion will truly be taken into account.  The Town Hall is where SGA gets ideas for new focus groups for Senate and it brings attention to issues that are important to the student body.

However, before you come to the Town Hall be sure to come to the SGA Open House!

The Open House will be tomorrow, Monday, November 5th from 5-7 PM in the SGA Office located in the lower level of the Commons!

There will be lots of candy, snacks, and music! So be sure to stop by during dinner and learn about the upcoming Town Hall and about different aspects of SGA!

We hope to see you there!