Message from the SGA President: June 4, 2020

Dear Emerson Community,

I am writing this not only as President of SGA, but as an individual who is disgusted with the systems of the country I call home. We are living in a wildly chaotic time, and it’s going to stay chaotic. We aren’t returning to a pre-March 2020 America. A lot has changed in just the past week. On Tuesday night, protests in my hometown of Brockton, MA, ended in police-instigated violence. Protesters were tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets. Transportation was cut off so they couldn’t escape. The National Guard was called in before the protests even began. The murder of George Floyd ignited this insurrection, but it is about far more than one life now. These protests and riots are about every single Black life. Systemic and institutionalized racism are the defining civil rights and social justice issues of our time. More people have come to understand that to be silent about the violence and threats to the lives and well-being of Black people is to be complicit in that violence and those threats. Silence does nothing. Nineteen million people have posted a black square with #blackouttuesday on Instagram. Eleven million people have signed George Floyd's petition for justice. Don’t absolve yourself of responsibility, unify your voices. If you’re white, you have an obligation not to keep quiet. Use your privilege to amplify the voices of people of color about these issues of injustice. Signing a petition is free and takes two minutes. There is no excuse not to do so. 

What follows are just a handful of the hundreds of petitions started in the last week: Raise The Degree, Justice for George Floyd, Convict all Four Cops involved in George Floyd’s Murder, Justice for Breonna Taylor, Justice for Dion Johnson, Justice for Ahmaud Arbery, Justice for Tony McDade, Justice for Sean Reed, Defund the Police, and The Hands Up Act. I recommend adding your names if you haven’t already. 

If you’re able to donate, I recommend donating to I Run With Maud, The Official George Floyd Memorial Fund, Justice for David Mcatee, Justice for Jamee, Justice for Regis Korchinski Paqueti, The Homeless Black Trans Woman Fund, LGBTQ Fund, Miss Major's Monthly Fundraising Circle, Unicorn Riot, Emergency Release Fund, Solidarity Support Distro, NAACP Legal Fund, National Police Accountability Project, Campaign Zero, The Black Visions Collective, The Loveland Foundation, The ACLU, Color of Change, Reclaim The Block, Communities United Against Police Brutality, or, Split a donation between Bail Funds. This, again, is only a handful of the countless charities/fundraisers out there. 

Students have been reaching out to me and other SGA members about the possibility of donating remaining organization funds to various bail funds and charities. I want to be clear that I wholeheartedly support this idea. I am currently working with the administration to find a way to allow organizations to do this. I apologize that I don't have a definite answer at the time of writing this, but I will make it known to students once I do. 

As an organization, SGA promises to “promote and protect the rights of the students, indiscriminate of race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.” Right now, those rights are not being protected by our state or national governments. SGA owes it to all students to continue to press on these issues, and to hold the administration and student body accountable for any shortcomings. As Executive President, I promise that SGA will commit to holding our community and officials to anti-racist standards. SGA stands against police brutality and white supremacy in all its forms. SGA stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the protestors standing against police violence all across the globe. 

Solidarity Forever,

Claire Rodenbush, SGA Executive President

Statement Regarding Minnesota Protests

What is happening in Minneapolis right now is not the result of a broken system. It is a reasonable reaction to a brutal system that was working exactly as intended. If the job of our law enforcement is to protect and serve, you have to stop and wonder who it is they actually protect and serve. The murder of George Floyd was inexcusable, and yet another in the seemingly neverending series of deaths of Black Americans at the hands of the police. The protests happening in Minneapolis and across the country are the result of the powder keg finally exploding. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “a riot is the language of the unheard.” For too long, the voices of Black Americans have gone unheard. We stand in solidarity with the Minneapolis chapter of Black Lives Matter, as well as other chapters protesting the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade. 

There can be no peace without justice. As Desmond Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” We are witnessing firsthand the power that a collective voice and collective action can have. Were it not for the Minneapolis riots, Derek Chauvin would not have been charged for murder. Every police officer present must be held accountable, including those like Tao Thou, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng, who stood by and watched as Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd.

America is built upon racial inequality and injustice. Police violence is not the only manifestation of this systemic racism that we’re witnessing. In recent months, Black and Brown communities have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19. Workers are forced to work for starvation wages because they can’t survive without a single paycheck. Systemic racism is pervasive, and infects every aspect of all of our lives. This needs to end. The systems in place that lead to riots like those in Minnesota need to be torn down, or else no community can truly heal. 

If you wish to help, please consider donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, North Star Health Collective, the Black Visions Collective, and Reclaim The Block. 

-Claire Rodenbush, SGA Executive President

An Organization Reimagined: SGA 2019 - 2020 - Year In Review

Never could I have imagined when I stepped onto this campus two and half years ago, in January 2018, that my journey with Emerson College’s student government would end here. I think I can speak for many student leaders within our organization and in the College that leadership can come to you unexpectedly and totally change your perspective. This fresh set of eyes on the world will drive you to do the impossible and push you beyond where you ever thought you could go. In just one semester, we did the unthinkable and turned our organization on its head to reimagine it in a way that had never been done before. In this closing 2019 - 2020 address, you’ll see what SGA has worked hard on over the course of the year.

It’s important to note that all of the work you read about here was not done single-handedly; our officers worked tirelessly over the past two semesters alongside our senior leadership team, including: Raz Moayed (Fall 2019 Executive President), Melissa Bordelon (Spring 2020 Executive Vice President), Abigail Semple (2019 - 2020 Executive Treasurer), Julia Stanton (2019 - 2020 Executive Secretary), Gianna Gironda (Spring 2020 Chief of Staff), and Joseph Johnson (2019 - 2020 Chief Justice). 

I’d like to thank these members of our senior leadership team and all of the officers within our organization for their hard work throughout these past two unprecedented semesters. They have laid the foundation for a future that we all dream of: an Emerson that works for and benefits every single student. Through their efforts to create our new constitution, student governance at Emerson College will be forever reimagined with a new set of tools at its disposal. These “toolmakers” of the 2019 - 2020 SGA did not seek any glory of their own, instead they simply crafted the instruments and mechanisms that student leaders will use at the College for decades to come.

In closing, it is my hope that as this anomalous year comes to an end, we can look forward to the day when we join together in conversation again. A day will come when we are able to commemorate our triumphant victories as students in person once more. That glorious day will be marked with celebration and a restored sense of the kinship we all have as Emersonians. Together we will persevere till that day arrives. We’ve earned it.

Warm regards,

Will Palauskas

Executive President of the Student Government Association

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Download the full review in .PDF format here or continue reading below.

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Academic Initiative

Now regarded as a yearly tradition in SGA, the seventh annual Academic Initiative was published in December of 2019. The Academic Initiative is traditionally seen as one of the largest student-led critiques on the overall status of education at Emerson College. The initiative provides a wide array of suggestions, questions, and concerns to academic administrators at the college. This year’s initiative totaled more than 59 pages and 14,000 words of specific, detailed feedback. In collaboration with senior leadership within SGA, the academic senators took a rapid departure from prior initiatives by codifying the document in a new, unique way. Each action item is coded with a label: “New”, “Ongoing”, or “Resolved”. These labels will help allow future academic senators to evaluate the status of important issues and prevent the cyclical nature of problems that occur as students graduate and new, unacquainted students take on their roles in SGA.

SGA Joint Session voted to approve the Academic Initiative in December. Following its approval, the document was sent to Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michaele Whelan, the Deans of the academic schools, and each department chair.  The 2019-2020 Academic Initiative can be found here.

Academic Town Hall

The second annual Academic Town Hall was held in November of 2019 in the Lion’s Den. Following the success of the inaugural Faculty & Student Town Hall, the academic senate and then-Executive Vice President Will Palauskas partnered with the college Provost, Michaele Whelan, to host the largest single-day faculty and student conversation surrounding academics on campus. 

Nearly two hundred faculty, staff, and students were in attendance, crowding the dining center and Lion’s Den to discuss issues of importance regarding the academic experience at the College. These conversations were recorded thoroughly by notetakers, helping to shape this year’s Academic Initiative. 

Advisor

SGA’s advisor of more than nineteen years, Sharon Duffy, was celebrated in the Fall semester and honored for her tireless commitment to student governance at the College. Sharon had resigned from her role to take on a new position at the College as Assistant Vice President of Student Success.

A new advisor, Jason Meier, was onboarded successfully during the Fall 2019 semester. Jason serves as the Director of Student Engagement & Leadership (SEAL) at the College. He has already provided an immeasurable amount of guidance to student leaders within the organization. He serves as advisor alongside existing SGA advisor, Jim Hoppe, Vice President and Dean of Campus Life. 

Appeal Requests

The Executive Treasurer and Financial Advisory Board (FAB) held weekly meetings on Thursdays throughout the Fall and Spring semester. These hearings allowed student organizations to appeal for additional funding for their organizations outside of their regular annual budget requests.

The Executive Treasurer and FAB approved 20 appeal requests this year, totaling $141,022.92.

ASGA National Conference

At the beginning of August 2019, SGA hosted the American Student Government Association (ASGA) Boston Conference at Emerson for the second time. Several dozen participants from a variety of different institutions gathered at Emerson on August 4th to attend workshops with professional presenters, share insight, and network with other student governments. 

Board of Trustees Representative

An incredibly important role in SGA at Emerson College, an undergraduate member of Joint Session is appointed to attend the Board of Trustees tri-annual meetings. This officer serves as the voice of the concerns and opinions of the nearly 4,000 undergraduates at the College. 

The most recent speech to the Board, made in February 2020, is available here.

By-Law Review

SGA Joint Session unanimously approved to update the bylaws to the Constitution, as typically performed at the beginning of each academic year. Students can find up-to-date bylaws on the SGA website at emersonsga.org/by-laws.

With the ratification of a new constitution, a rough draft of bylaws was created to assist in the transition of powers from the 19-20 SGA to the 20-21 SGA. These new bylaws will be presented and ratified by the 20-21 SGA in the Fall of 2020.

Chief Justice Appointment

In the final meeting of the 19-20 academic year, Chief Justice Joseph Johnson formally resigned and suggested the appointment of Elections and Outreach Director Lilly Meehan-Egan to the position. Lilly was unanimously appointed to the role. She will serve as the new presiding officer of SGA’s judiciary branch. 

Committees

SGA Officers traditionally sit as members on a variety of different committees, boards, task forces, and workgroups to help advise college administrators on key decisions from a representative perspective. This year, SGA Officers served on the following committees:

• Budgetary Priorities and Planning Advisory Committee

• COVID-19 Presidential Working Group

• ERA Awards committee

• Emerson Equity and Justice Committee

• Faculty Assembly

• Iwasaki Library

• Marketing Student Engagement Taskforce

• Senior Commencement Committee

• Spirit of Emerson committee

• Student Organization Affiliation Process committee

• Title IX Working Group

• Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

Constitutional Ratification

Considered the most monumental change to Emerson student government in twenty-one years, a new constitution was ratified by the student body in a vote in April. The constitution was framed and approved by officers of the Student Government Association in a Zoom meeting prior to the ratification special election.

The Constitutional Changes Committee (C3) met regularly for two weeks via Zoom to edit and make changes to the constitution after senior leadership in the organization spent nearly four months in small meetings writing the new constitution. A subcommittee reviewed and copy-edited the constitution for twelve hours. 

The new constitution helps lay the foundation for a more impactful, proactive system of student governance at Emerson College. Those who wish to learn more about the constitutional ratification can read about it here. The full constitution is available here.

Elections

In perhaps one of the most extraordinary circumstances of the year, four elections were held in one academic year to provide more opportunities for students to participate in the democratic process.

Fall 2019 Special Election

A special election was held in the Fall of 2019 to help fill seats in the academic senate and in the senior class council. Seniors Issel-Solano Sanchez and Connor McNinch were elected to senior class president and senior class vice president respectively. First year student Jehan Ayesha was elected to the position of journalism senator.

Fall 2019 General Election

Traditionally held at the end of the semester to fill seats on the newly-created freshman class council and other empty seats in SGA. In this election cycle, 517 students voted, in comparison to 234 students who voted in the Fall 2018 election cycle. This is nearly a 121% increase in student participation. The results of the election are available here.

Constitutional Ratification Special Election

The ratification special election saw 240 students participate, with 90% voting yes in support of a new constitution for SGA. Full results of the election are available here.

Spring 2020 General Election

The final election of the Spring 2020 filled a number of seats across the executive branch, legislative, and class councils. The first fully virtual election in SGA history was run by a fully-staffed elections committee. 387 students voted in the election. The full results of the election are available here.

Prior to the Spring 2020 general election, officers of SGA voted unanimously to approve a change to elections bylaws striking the requirement for the traditionally-used elections packet which required 50 signatures to appear on the ballot. The packet was replaced with a simple EmConnect form alongside the existing standing check. 

Events

Officers of the Student Government Association put on a wide variety of events, workshops, and meet & greets to meet members of the student body and connect them with administrators. 

Some events included:

• Ghouls & Gabs (October 25)

• Performing Arts Forum (October 28)

• Candidate Press Night (December 5)

• Class of 2022 Cookies & Concerns (February 7)

These events ranged in variety, formality, and style, but all shared one goal: to make students’ voices heard across campus. 

Executive Cabinet

For the first time in SGA history, in the Spring 2020 semester an executive cabinet was created to help support the internal structure of the organization and provide assistance to the representative officers of SGA.

The five positions created in the inaugural cabinet were completely filled. The inaugural position holders included: Gianna Gironda (Chief of Staff), Hannah Flaherty (Communications DIrector), Thea Nagle (Social and Events Director), Lilly Meehan-Egan (Elections and Outreach Director), and Jay Rosato (History and Education Director).

Guest Speakers

A wide variety of administrators, staff, and students were hosted as guest speakers during the second hour of SGA’s weekly joint session meetings held from 2PM to 3:45PM on Tuesdays. These guests included:

October 1: Jason Meier and Andy Donahue (SEAL)

Jason and Andy presented a comprehensive review on the use of EmConnect at the College, including analytics on usership by students at the College. SGA officers voiced their opinions on EmConnect and its continued use at the College.

October 8: Jill Naimo (Voice Your Choice)

Associate Director of Student & Young Alumni Engagement Jill Naimo spoke at a meeting regarding the status of Voice Your Choice and a commitment to partnership for the Fall 2020 election. SGA officers provided feedback regarding Voice Your Choice and changes to be made.

October 15: Cheryl McGrath (Library)

SGA officers welcomed the new director of the Iwasaki Library, Cheryl McGrath, to SGA. They provided feedback about Cheryl’s plan for the library. An officer of SGA, Madi Doelling, was selected during the meeting as a representative to the Library.

October 22: Berkeley Beacon staff

The executive team from the Berkeley Beacon attended a meeting to offer a proposal for SGA’s examination regarding their funding status. 

October 29: Tuesda Roberts (Academic Affairs) and Public Art Think Tank

Three special guests attended the 10/29 meeting. Tuesda Roberts, the new Director for Faculty Development and Diversity, spoke regarding the College’s heightened commitment to diversity and equity training and heard feedback from SGA officers regarding their thoughts on faculty’s commitment to training.

Two guests from the Public Art Think Tank, Cher Knight, Professor of Visual and Media Arts, and Leonie Bradbury, Distinguished Curator-in-Residence, spoke regarding the public art think tank, a new public art initiative on Emerson’s campus to bring more public art installations to spaces across campus. SGA officers provided suggestions on underutilized spaces to use on campus.

November 11: Brian Basgen (IT)

Brian Basgen, Assistant Vice President of IT, spoke at the meeting regarding changes to IT at the College. Basgen specifically outlined an investigation into recent server crashes during course registration in the Fall. He also answered questions regarding SGA officers’ concerns with the college’s new financial software, Workday.

December 3: Jim Hoppe (Campus Life)

Vice President and Dean of Campus Life, Jim Hoppe, spoke at a meeting regarding SGA’s concerns with the sidewalk expansion project, including lack of accessibility and narrow entryways causing congestion. Hoppe also showed proposals for the new Student Performance Production Center housed in the Little Building to officers.

January 28: Julie Avis-Rogers and Jake Freedman (Spiritual Life)

After the anti-semitic grafitti found in the Piano Row building, SGA officers invited Julie Avis-Rogers, director of Spiritual Life, and Jake Freedman, advisor for Hillel, to attend a meeting to discuss the College’s response to the incident. Also in attendance were Chris Daly, assistant dean of Campus Life, and Jim Hoppe, Vice President and Dean of Campus Life, who heard comments and suggestions from SGA officers regarding the response.

February 4: Michaele Whelan (Academic Affairs)

The College’s Chief Academic Officer and Provost, Michaele Whelan, attended a meeting to discuss mid-semester course feedback, faculty awards, and bias reporting. SGA officers provided an immense amount of constructive criticism surrounding bias reporting at the College. 

Following the Provost’s appearance, SGA senior leadership members alongside advisors Jason Meier and Jim Hoppe met with VP of Equity and Social Justice, Dr. Sylvia Spears, in a closed meeting to discuss further examination into the bias reporting process at the College and an incident of anti-Asian hate speech graffiti in the Little Building.

February 11: Heather May (ECCAAUP)

Heather May, representative for the full time faculty union, ECCAAUP, attended a meeting to discuss an ongoing situation regarding faculty pay for directed studies. SGA officers pledged to stand in solidarity with the union and authored a resolution in support of full-time faculty members. 

February 18: Erik Müürisepp (Campus Life)

Erik Müürisepp, Assistant VP for Campus Life, spoke regarding the College’s U.S. Census project and how SGA could engage in promoting it across campus. He also provided information surrounding the college laundry plan for on-campus students, to which SGA officers provided input.

February 25: Jill Naimo (Voice Your Choice)

Jill Naimo, Associate Director of Student & Young Alumni Engagement, attended her second SGA meeting of the year as a guest speaker to announce a continued partnership with SGA. SGA officers provided feedback on how Voice Your Choice went in the Fall 2019 General Election.

March 10: Raul Reis (School of Communication)

Dean Raul Reis of the School of Communication attended a meeting to announce the second annual Communication Days to SGA officers. SGA officers provided feedback on events and partnership on advertising the event to students.

Although the semester was cut short, planned guests for the remainder of the semester originally had included Dean Rob Sabal (School of Arts) to discuss co-curriculars at the College, Dean Amy Ansell (Institute of Liberal Arts) to discuss the academics following impending Marlboro College merger, Dr. Sylvia Spears (Social Justice Center) to discuss identity-based harm and bias reporting, Paul Dworkis (Finance) to discuss financial equity at the College, and Sharon Duffy (Student Success) to discuss food insecurity at the College.

History and Archiving

As part of an executive cabinet initiative to chronicle SGA’s 112 year history, History and Education Director Jay Rosato met with the Emerson Archives multiple times throughout the Spring semester to assemble together a motley of information on SGA into a timeline. 

Jay created a first draft of the official SGA timeline, available here. (Note: This is an incomplete and living document.)

Lead365 National Conference

In late October, SGA Executive President Raz Moayed, Executive Vice President Will Palauskas, Executive Treasurer Abby Semple, Class of 2022 President Cassie Shelley, and Advisors Sharon Duffy and Jason Meier attended the annual Lead365 National Conference. SGA sent delegates to this conference to network with students and staff from other institutions, hear from recognized speakers and presenters, and develop their leadership and professional skills. 

Minutes

Full written meeting records for the entire year were taken by Executive Secretary Julia Stanton. These minutes contained exact wording from SGA officers, guests, and other parties during Joint Session meetings. Meeting recordings for Zoom Joint Sessions were also taken for member record and sent to the press when asked. All minutes are available here.

Open Position Appointments

The SGA filled a number of open appointed positions this year. A number of students were appointed to the Executive Board and other support positions, including 

• Melissa Bordelon (Executive Vice President, fall semester)

• Joseph Johnson (Chief Justice, 2019 - 2020)

• Lilly Meehan Egan (Chief Justice, 2020 -)

• Julia Stanton (Executive Secretary)

• Jehan Ayesha (Executive Assistant, fall semester)

• Ariane Ivanier (Executive Assistant, fall semester)

• Gianna Gironda (Chief of Staff, spring semester)

Additionally, the following were appointed to open senator, commissioner, cabinet, class council, and chair positions: 

• Naomi Jones (Class of 2021 President)

• Ali Michalak (Writing, Literature & Publishing Senator)

• Jake Apitz (Communication Sciences & Disorders Senator)

• Jay Liu (International Students Commissioner, fall semester)

• Gianna Gironda (Sustainability Commissioner)

• Tatiana Melendez (FSL Commissioner, fall semester) 

• Maximo Lawlor (FSL Commissioner, spring semester)

• Caroline Rodriguez (POWER Commissioner, fall semester)

• Eryn McCallum (POWER Commissioner, spring semester)

• Harper McKenzie (Accessibility Commissioner)

• Annie Kew (Transfer Student Commissioner, spring semester)

• Lily Fitzherbert (LGBTQIA+ Commissioner, fall semester)

• Anthony Allocca (LBGTQIA+ Commissioner, spring semester)

• Arasha Lalani (Board of Trustees representative, fall semester)

• Lindsay Debrosse (Board of Trustees representative, fall semester)

• Hannah Flaherty (Communications Director, spring semester)

• Jay Rosato (History and Education Director, spring semester)

• Thea Nagle (Social and Events Director, spring semester)

• Lilly Meehan-Egan (Elections and Outreach Director, spring semester)

• Meredith Stisser (PR Chair, fall semester)

Organization Affiliation Process

As part of a new change to how student organizations are affiliated on campus, the Office of Student Engagement & Leadership (SEAL) and SGA partnered together on affiliating organizations on campus via the Student Organization Affiliation Process. In the fall semester, Executive Vice President Will Palauskas and CSD Senator Melissa Bordelon served on the committee. In the spring semester, Executive Vice President Melissa Bordelon and Class of 2022 Senator Lindsay Debrosse served on the committee.

The following organizations were affiliated by the committee:

• Fall 2019

  • Hip Hop Society

  • Theyta

  • Camp Kesem Emerson

  • CHUANG Stage

  • Mystic

  • Emerson Quidditch

  • SkinTones

• Spring 2020

  • Hidden Lanterns

  • Wack Mag

Outreach and Social Media

SGA committed to continue to promote its efforts and outreach to students through a number of different channels. SGA social media pages were used more frequently and more heavily to allow more communication

Staff

In the spring semester, as part of the Executive Cabinet proposal, two new positions were created to aid in communication to the student body. These positions included the Communication Director and Elections and Outreach Director, who oversaw social media and member recruitment respectively. 

Instagram

A total of 75 posts were made by the 2019-20 SGA Officers. The total Instagram audience grew more than 250 hundred followers during the academic year, with more than 400 now following the @emersonstudentgov account. 

Updates

As part of a commitment by Executive President Will Palauskas to communicate more directly to the student body, seven executive updates were published to the SGA website in the Spring semester. The updates are available to read here.

Takeovers

Two Instagram takeovers of the Emerson College Instagram story occurred, one to promote the Academic Town Hall and the other to promote the constitutional ratification special election. Through the takeovers, hundreds of students were redirected to the SGA website where hundreds of students were able to learn more about 

Website

As part of an effort to make SGA more accessible to the student body, the entire website was overhauled and completely redesigned to provide more visual interest as well as organization. The new website replaces one created more than five years ago. 

After the website was redesigned, from August 1 to May 1, there were more than 4,200 unique visitors to the website. There was also a total of 11,094 page views in the same period.

Class Councils

Class Presidents used social media to promote SGA happenings and events. The Class Council of 2023 Instagram, which was created in the spring semester, now has over 466 followers and posts regular correspondence with the class.

Class Presidents also corresponded regularly via mass emails to their class to inform them about ongoing happenings, events, and SGA proceedings.

Resolutions 

For the first time in recent SGA history, two pieces of legislation were authored by SGA officers. In what was effectively a trial of a new system, these two resolutions written helped prove that a legislative model could work effectively. Both resolutions help set a new benchmark for the caliber of legislation written going forward.

A Resolution Regarding Fair Compensation For Faculty

Authored by Senator Ali Michalak, this resolution was written in support of the full-time faculty union on campus. SGA officers encouraged college administrators to pay faculty members for directed studies. The full resolution is available here.

A Resolution Regarding The Loss Of In-Person Learning Due To COVID-19

Authored by Executive Treasurer Abigail Semple, this resolution detailed the importance of experiential learning and expressed students’ concerns surrounding a lack of clarity around the issue. The full resolution is available here.

Treasury Summary

Major achievements include 100% of student organizations attending treasury training, a newly introduced paperless process, and proposed the Financial Equity Committee which was included in the newly ratified Constitution. SGA has put a focus on reimbursements becoming faster by encouraging more students to enroll in direct deposit payment options and pushed student leaders towards using payment-to-vendor options to avoid placing any financial burdens upon students. 

Treasury Process

The new paperless process has saved Emerson hundreds of dollars and prevented thousands of carbon copies (which cannot be recycled) from being printed, and has been crucial for students to be able to continue to utilize their organization funding during quarantine, which would not have been possible with the previous paper system.

Also the new system is now fully automated, so whereas previously about a half a dozen students worked with the former Executive Treasurer doing data entry for about 10 hours every week. The new paperless process is now able to complete that task in about 10 minutes and only requires one person. We have continued enhancing the paperless system throughout the year to allow future student leaders to spend more time doing the important work advocating for the student body, instead of being buried under a pile of paperwork. 

Zoom Meetings

Following an unprecedented shortened ending to the semester, officers of SGA committed to continue meeting via Zoom to help serve their constituents. A total of four joint sessions were held via Zoom in from late March to early May, with roughly 20 to 30 members of SGA attending each.

Meetings were fully recorded and transcribed by Executive Secretary Julia Stanton. All votes were performed asynchronously and virtually to allow officers who were unable to attend the opportunity to represent their constituents’ voices through democratic action.

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Download the full review in .PDF format here:

Spring 2020 Elections Results

Spring 2020 Elections Results

We would like to thank all the candidates for their participation in the Spring 2020 General Election. Although these are uncertain times, we are looking forward to working with this group under the new SGA constitution to represent the interests of the students. We would also like to thank the 387 people who participated in this election and made their voices heard. The results of this year’s election are found below:

Executive Board

• Executive President: Claire Rodenbush

• Executive Vice President: Lindsay Debrosse

Senators

• Comedic Arts Senator: Evan Phillips

• Communication Sciences and Disorders Senator: Jake Aptiz

• Performing Arts Senator: Chandler David

• Visual Media Arts Senator: Thomas Coughlin

• Writing, Literature, and Publishing Senator: Thomas Garback

Class of 2021

• Class of 2021 President: Naomi Jones

• Class of 2021 Vice President: Richard Fucillo

Class of 2022

• Class of 2022 Vice President: Philip Leary

• Class of 2022 Treasurer: Anton Lee

• Class of 2022 Student Experience Senator: Cassie Shelley

Class of 2023

• Class of 2023 Vice President: Helen Frazer

Results of the Constitutional Ratification

Results of the Constitutional Ratification

The Student Government Association is proud to announce the results of the special election to ratify the new constitution. 240 students voted in the election, with 216 (90%) voting yes, 20 (8.33%) voting no, and 4 (1.67%) selecting both options therefore abstaining. SGA will continue to operate under the current constitution until the end of the school year, and the new constitution will be used for the Spring 2020 election cycle. The new constitution will go into full effect beginning in the Fall 2020 semester. Learn more about the new constitution here.

This new constitution introduces a new chapter for the Student Government Association, which will allow student governance to be more proactive and impactful on the overall student experience at Emerson College. We look forward to seeing how Emerson will continue to be shaped by the powerful voices that students hold. 

Finally, we’d like to thank every student who voted in this important special election.

Read the constitution here:

Moving Forward: SGA Operations Update

Moving Forward: SGA Operations Update

The Student Government Association (SGA) is reimagining the way it will operate for the final months of the Spring 2020 semester to continue to serve constituents and advocate for students. 

Meetings

SGA will no longer meet in person for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. Instead, our members have committed to holding Joint Session asynchronously to accomodate for members who may leave the city and head home. Members will provide reports via SGA’s Slack channel to update the rest of our association on their business.

Smaller committees (such as Executive Cabinet, Commissioner’s Council, Senate, President’s Council, FAB) within our association will meet synchronously via services such as Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, and phone. 

Our Student Government Association members are still committed to fighting for you, wherever you are. 

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Annual Budget Requests (ABR)

More than 90 student organizations depend on our association to efficiently and impartially allocate their funding yearly. Student Government Association is committed to continuing the ABR process to ensure that these organizations are funded and fully prepared for the 2020-21 Academic Year. 

The ABR process will continue as planned and will work remotely this year. A number of volunteers from our organization have taken on a handful of organizations to work with throughout this process. 

Student leaders of SGA Funded organizations should email Executive Treasurer, Abby Semple, with questions at sga_treasurer@emerson.edu. 

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Reimbursements

Executive Treasurer Abby Semple has committed to making sure that reimbursements continue to be processed. We will continue to move forward with any existing or new reimbursements as they come into the system.

Student leaders with questions about their reimbursement can email sga_treasurer@emerson.edu or sga_president@emerson.edu. 

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Elections

Our organization is proud to commit to continuing to run our elections fairly. This year’s elections will be run entirely remotely which is made possible through the entirely digital voting process on EmConnect. In collaboration with the Berkeley Beacon, we will release as much information about the elections and candidates on a special candidates page on our website. 

Our Candidate Intent Form has been extended to remain open until Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 11:45PM. This should allow potential candidates who are currently moving off campus to continue considering a run for office. Virtual candidate profiles will be available on the Student Government Association website at emersonsga.org. 

Chief Justice Joseph Johnson and Elections & Outreach Director Lilly Meehan-Egan have also released an updated timeline to accomodate for the unforeseen circumstances of the semester:

3/20: Optional candidate platform (video and/or written statement) due to Advisor, Chief Justice, and Elections & Outreach Director.

3/30: Elections page on emersonsga.org launches.

4/13: Polls Open

4/15: Polls Close

4/17: Notification of election results for balloted candidates; write-ins are checked for eligibility

4/21: General public notified of election results. Observation period begins for newly elected officers.

Student Government Association is committed to making sure fair democractic elections persist no matter what the status of College’s operations are. Candidates with questions should reach out to Chief Justice Joseph Johnson at sga_chiefjustice@emerson.edu or Elections and Outreach Director Lilly Meehan-Egan at sga_elections@emerson.edu.

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In closing, as we move through these last difficult months of the Spring semester, we thank you for your understanding. Although this unimaginable time is easy for no one, our members remain steadfast in their work representing you and your interests. 

Statement regarding COVID-19

Statement regarding COVID-19

With the recent move to redirect classes online beginning the week of March 23, due to increased concern surrounding the spread of COVID-19 (CoronaVirus), Student Government Association would like to express its solidarity with students during this time. We understand the heightened sense of fear, confusion, and worry surrounding this decision.

In recent discussions with Emerson College administrators, Student Government Association has learned there will be increased communication from the College surrounding this decision. We expect to receive several emails in the coming days surrounding the implications that COVID-19 has on large-scale gatherings (i.e. ERA Awards, The EVVY Awards) on campus, extracurricular activities, student employment, and housing. We acknowledge that this period of uncertainty can be daunting but we ask students to trust that the decisions made are to ensure the overall safety of the students, staff, and faculty. 

We express the same concerns as you about how this decision will shape the Spring 2020 semester at the College. However, we encourage you to take time over the next week when there will be no formally scheduled classes to try to remain positive about our current situation. As the administration relays more information to the student body, we will all have a better understanding of what is ahead.

The college has created an email, covid19@emerson.edu, as a resource for students to send questions and express concerns they have regarding the unanswered topics about student life on the Boston campus moving forward. College officials will be monitoring the email and sending responses as questions come in.

We, too, are students with the same questions and concerns as the rest of the Emerson community. We will do our best to find and relay answers (via our website and social media platforms) to those questions as we receive them. We are here to support you in any way we can. 

On Identity-Based Hate, Healing, and Education

On Identity-Based Harm, Healing, and Education

A statement cannot heal a community but it can help set work into motion.

The recent anti-Semitic graffiti found scrawled in a stairwell in Piano Row and the racist language used to demean Asians and Asian-Americans written on the front doors of residents of the Little Building should serve as a wake-up call for our community. These identity-based hate crimes are not new to our campus (as the Berkeley Beacon has reported) and they aren’t new to communities and college campuses all across our country. It is disgusting, disparaging, and, luckily, it has set work into action. This action will hopefully set our campus up for both immediate and long-term solutions to these hate crimes.

In a recent discussion during a Joint Session meeting on Tuesday, January 22, a SGA member stated that our college (and colleges across the country) need to stop placing the burden of solving these hate crimes on the shoulders of those who are survivors of trauma. The very people still healing from these hate crimes are often the same people who now must figure out solutions for the rest of the community at-large. We’re fortunate that our college administration has taken action of their own devices and has begun the process to look into solutions surrounding these issues. Whether it be immediate action or long-term education, solutions are being sought out. And the solutions are out there. 

We, as the Student Government Association, plan to hold the administration accountable. As the weeks and months pass and we move along from these two hate crimes, we will not forget them. We will continue to hold conversations surrounding what is being done to ensure continuous education and change on our campus. We will continue to demand action and insist that all students, not just those who are survivors of this trauma, are involved in the process of finding solutions. We as a community must lift each other up after attacks like these and not allow each other to “comfortably” forget what has happened. Every single one of us must seek action and Student Government Association hopes to bring as many people as possible into the conversations that will take place in the coming months. 

We will fight hard together and demand that change happen. Our community is a place for everyone and we won’t allow these two hate crimes, or any hate crime, to disrupt the values that we all share for our college.

Statement on 1/22 Antisemitic Graffiti

In regards to the antisemitic graffiti found yesterday in the Piano Row Residence Hall, the Student Government Association condemns the despicable act of hatred found written on the wall in a stairwell. We echo President Pelton’s sentiments and statement in his email to our community.

This action is especially disheartening because this type of malevolent hatred feels distinctly out of place in our college. We stand with our fellow community members who are at a loss as to how that form of hatred found a place in one of our residence halls: a home and safe place for students. As a school built on oration, there is always a place for discourse and debate within our community. But this action doesn’t lead to debate, it is not a prank, it is not a joke, it is a vile corruption that has no place on our campus.

We’re grateful for the hard work of administration, staff, faculty, and other students who have ensured that our campus feels safe again. Student Government Association knows that our institution, which has devoted itself to the great undertaking of education, will not allow for these deplorable actions to corrupt our community’s dedication to equity and social justice.

We would like to remind our fellow students, especially those who identify with the Jewish community, that the staff in the Center for Spiritual Life, Housing and Residential Education, Emerson Counseling and Psychological Services (ECAPS), Healing and Advocacy, the Social Justice Center, Student Success, Student Care and Support, and the Campus Life office are all available for counsel, support, and connection. 

We stand with you.

Fall 2019 Election Results

Fall 2019 Election Results

In late December, SGA held elections for the Fall 2019 semester. The Fall Elections are traditionally meant to fill vacant positions as well as the class council positions for the first year class.

In this election cycle, 517 students voted. This is compared to 234 students who voted in the Fall 2018 election cycle. This is nearly a 121% increase in student participation. SGA would like to thank our partners at Voice Your Choice for their tremendous assistance in encouraging students to vote. The results for this year’s election are found below:

EXECUTIVE BOARD

• Executive President: Will Palauskas

CLASS OF 2023

• President: Ariane Ivanier

• Vice President: Lily Fitzherbert

• Treasurer: Sisel Gelman

• Senator: Seamus Butcher

CLASS OF 2020

• President: Issel Solano-Sanchez*

• Vice President: Connor McNinch

DEPARTMENTAL SENATORS

• Visual Media Arts: Thomas Coughlin

VOICE YOUR CHOICE

• Class of 2020: $50,000 to Student Access 

• Class of 2021: $25,000 to Student Access 

• Class of 2022: $15,000 to Student Access 

• Class of 2023: $10,000 to Student Access

*Denotes a candidate that was elected previously in the Fall 2019 Special Election but was not officially announced.

Congratulations to the candidates! More information about what positions remain open will come in the Spring semester.