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.