Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Last Sunday, the Student Government Organization (SGO) held an Executive Board Meeting in Parrish Parlors at 7:03 P.M. At the meeting, each committee chair gave updates on their committee’s project progress.
SGO Week Planning Underway
SGO is planning a week of campus-wide events (April 11-15) to spread awareness about the student government organization and its missions and goals. While the proposed events will range from petting zoos to music performances, SGO hopes to centralize the events around each of the committee’s themes and initiatives.
Chair of Diversity Salman Safir ’16 suggested that SGO should organize a Monologue-style event.
“It’d be TedX style, where we have an open platform so people could just talk about their Swarthmore experience. It’d be cool to have people do something creative,” Safir said.
The Executive Board also hopes to organize open discussion events where students can talk about current campus topics, such as academic advising, student wellness, and the campus climate survey. The SGO has organized the petting zoo event for Monday, April 11. All other events for SGO Week are still being planned. The event schedule will be finalized on Thursday, March 31.
One extensive point of discussion during the meeting was about whether it would be appropriate to organize a Pub Nite awareness or fundraising event during SGO week. Some board members expressed worry that although Pub Nite is one of the more consistent parts of student life, it might not be relevant to the SGO mission. Others recall on Pub Nite fondly.
“Pub nite is the shit,” Chair of Student Organization Kara Bledsoe ’16 said.
SGO Week is a new student government initiative that some board members hope will continue in the years to come.
“I feel like some of the traditions at Swarthmore are dying, and it’d be cool to create something that lasts. It’d be cool if we could turn SGO week into something people look forward to,” Safir said.
SGO Student Survey Results
Chair of Student Outreach Ellen Liu ’18 is sorting through the responses from the SGO student survey released in February. The survey asked various questions about student perception of SGO on campus. Liu will present the data in an annual report.
“I’m going to consolidate all the projects that everyone has been working on, so that the student body can see all the stuff that we’ve done this year,” Liu said.
Parrish Board Decoration Study Break
Bledsoe is organizing a study break for student groups to gather and decorate their board spaces in Parrish. The Student Organizations Committee has reviewed the board applications and emailed student groups about the board space distribution on Monday night.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 P.M.
