The Student Government Association is made up of students to serve students. There are many ways for students to get involved in their student government or their campus:
1. You already are!
All undergraduate students at UMASS are SGA members because of the payment of the "student activities fee." For this reason all students can join RSO's and Agencies which are funded by the SGA.
2. Run for SGA Senate:
In the fall the Special Election is held across campus and online. 50 Senate seats are up for election in the fall. You will only be competing against people from your district (the districts of which can change but are normally each living area). In order to get on the ballot, a student has to acquire 25 signatures of registered full-time students. Nominations typically open the first week of school and close within the first few weeks of school. Elections are then held a week after. Some seats in the fall are heavily contested and others are not. Some underclassmen believe that they can't win because they haven't been here long enough, but this fear should not stop anyone from running. Senate terms are a yearlong and require you to be a member of an SGA committee (of which all five are listed in the side frame of this web site).
3. Be appointed to Senate through a vacancy:
Throughout the year vacancies occur within the Senate. Whenever a Senator resigns or is forced to resign through non-attendance, the Senate retains the ability to appoint any student within that district as a replacement. For example, if a Senator from North resigned, another student from North could be appointed to fill his vacancy. Throughout the year, 5-10 such positions are vacant. If a student wants to be appointed to a vacancy, they must contact the chair of Administrative Affairs in regard to a current vacancy. Upon a majority vote of the AA he/she shall be nominated for the vacancy. The Senate shall vote to confirm said appointment to the vacancy.
4. Be appointed to Senate through an Area Governor:
Each Area Governor is given one appointment to Senate. These are typically filled in the fall. Students who are interested in being appointed in such a manner should contact their Area Governor (this also requires the majority vote of the Senate for confirmation).
5. Get paid to serve on the SGA Judiciary or as an Election's Commissioner:
Due to turnover from graduation, every year the SGA Judiciary needs new members (more information can be found on the Judiciary section). Elections in the fall and spring require a full Election's Commission, of which most students have no previous involvement with the SGA. The Election's Commission operates as the main enforcement mechanism of the SGA's election's rules. In order to serve for either paid position, one should contact the Assistant Chief Justice and the Chancellor of Elections respectively.
6. Run for the position of Area Governor, Student Government Trustee or SGA President:
Each living area (Northeast, Orchard Hill, Commuter, Southwest, Central, Sylvan, North) has one Area Governor. The SGA has one Trustee and one President. All three serve for a year and their election is in the spring. The SGA Trustee serves as the official student representative on the Board of Trustees (depending on the year certain schools have voting privileges within the Board). The SGA President is in charge of the Executive Cabinet.
7. Serve on the Executive Board, various committees, or attend the SGA as an ex-officio member:
The Executive Board needs help to facilitate their jobs. Contact a cabinet member to see how you can help them in an area that interests yourself. Various projects require a wide variety of assistance, some of which can qualify for an independent study. All SGA committee meetings and Senate meetings are open to the public and announced beforehand. All students are invited to attend and encouraged to be active members. While non-Senators cannot vote at such meetings, student input is critical. Students may speak and even debate (upon the approval of the Senate). Depending on a students individual abilities and preferences, as a non-Senator he can still contribute. For example, Finance majors can intern for the Secretary of Finance who oversees the allocatin of the SGA's nearly $2,000,000 budget. Computer Science majors can intern for the Secretary of Web Management.
8. Serve on a UMASS Administrative Committee:
Various committees of UMASS have spots for students. In particular, the Student Affairs Judicial Issues Committee is charged with reviewing and revising the Code of Student Conduct. Any student may serve on the committee by contacting SAJIK Chair Catherine Porter at, cporter@ombuds.umass.edu. The Police Advisory Board is tasked with reviewing the actions and policies of the UMASS Police, the SGA Attorney General can provide contact on both SAJIK and the Police Advisory Board. There are countless committees of this nature run by the Administration. Recently, Vice Chancellor Jean Kim created a Special Commission to review the code of student conduct and the judicial process. Jean Kim also heads the SLAG Committee of student leaders.
9. Attend Faculty Senate meetings:
The Faculty Senate has significant influence with the administration and has direct responsibility for various workings of UMASS. Specifically in academics, the Faculty Senate controls a significant amount of UMASS policy. Any student who attends regular Faculty Senate meetings can report upon the meeting to the SGA. More information can be found on the Faculty Senate at www.umass.edu/senate/. The Senate meets regularly and students are invited to attend. Meeting are held at 3:30 PM in Herter 227. This is a list of their upcoming meetings:
Thursday, February 4
Thursday, February 25
Thursday, March 25
Thursday, April 8
Thursday, April 22
Thursday, May 6
10. Join a Faculty Senate Committee:
Joing Faculty Senate is the single biggest thing than any student can do to help his campus. In order to encourage greater student involvement, and student can serve on a Faculty Senate committee as a fully voting member. Alternatively, students can sign up for a 1-credit course (per semester) to receive credit for being on a Faculty Senate Committee. Under Faculty Senate's Sen. Doc. No. 98-010A any student can register for University 298A. The process for registration is coordinated with their Graduate Assistant Tracy Reed, gradassistant@senate.umass.edu, and also the SGA Speaker. . If a student is interested in serving on a Committee or Council, the following Committees have openings for students. Nearly all committees have vacancies and the numbers next to the committee/council are the number of student spots:
Wednesday, 2/3, 2/17, 3/3, 4/7, 4/21, 5/5; @ 12:15-1:45 - contact, Chair John Jenkins
Tuesday, 1/26, 2/23, 3/23, 4/20, 5/18; @ 3PM - Chair Kathleen Debevec
Friday, 2/5, 3/5, 4/2, 5/7; @ 11:30 AM, Co-Chair: Carol Barr, Rod Warnick
Friday, 1/29, 2/26, 3/26, 4/30; @ 2:30-4 PM, Co-Chairs: Maurianne Adams, W. Brian O'Connor
Friday, 2/19, 3/26, 4/16; @ 12 PM, Chair Maxine Schmidt
Monday, 2/1, 3/1, 4/5, 5/3; @ 4-5 PM, Chair Donal Carbaugh
Wednesday, 2/17, 3/10, 4/21, 5/19; @ 4-5 PM, Chair Julie Hayes
Friday, 1/29, 2/26, 3/26, 4/30; @ 9-10 AM, Chair David Evans
Monday, 2/1, 3/1, 4/5, 5/3; @ 1 PM, Co-Chairs: Laura Lovett, Andrew Cohen
Tuesday, 2/2, 3/2, 4/6, 5/4; @ 10 AM Co-Chairs: Kathleen Davis, Joanne Levenson
Tuesday, 2/9… TBA; @ 1-2:30 PM, Chair Carolyn Cave
Friday, TBA, 4 PM, Chair Joseph Bartolomeo
Tuesday, 2/4, 3/4, 4/1, 5/6; @ 2:30, Chair Stephen Schreiber
Friday, TBA, @2PM, Chair: Robert Levin
Tuesday, 2/18, 3/11, 4/15, 5/20; @12:30 PM, Chair MJ Canavan
Wednesday, 2/13, 3/5, 4/2, 5/7; @3-5 PM, Co-Chairs: Marilyn Billings, Jane Miller
TBA Co-Chairs: W.C. Conner, Stanley Hertzbach
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