By Jen Cardone | The Duquesne Duke
Students can expect to see changes from the Student Government Association this year, including more collaboration between organizations on campus and increased school spirit.
The SGA has been working on an initiative called #duqbucketlist with Nicole Bucholtz, director of marketing and promotions in the athletics department. This year, they have compiled a list of what all Duquesne students should do while they attend the University. SGA President Peter Samson said the goal is to get more students to participate in organizations and to increase school spirit.
The SGA has also started a collaboration with the Duquesne Program Council, International Students Organization and all the class councils to establish a stronger connection.
“We really don’t have a great relationship with them, so we’re doing our best to reach out to them to promote events,” Samson said. “Right now our relationship is kind of distant because we just provide funding.”
Over the summer, SGA representatives worked with the budget and were able to allocate 2.9 percent more toward conference appropriations, which are awarded to campus organizations twice per year.
Another change this year will be limited access to the Student Organization Resource Center. Due to missing items, only two members per organization can now access it. New hardware is being installed that will require students to swipe in, and it should be accessible within the next few weeks.
An additional project in the works is an effort to expand the DoubleMap smartphone application to include push notifications as the loop bus reaches stops, but nothing has been finalized. Samson said they are waiting for student feedback and will adjust the app to student needs later this semester.
In the next two weeks, SGA is going to unveil a project called the Duquesne Tradition Project. Franklin Giovannelli, vice president of student life, said it is an ongoing project that has been in the works and will begin its initial stages this semester. More details will be released when they are available.
Samson said the SGA wants to remind students they are the people to seek out for changes and concerns on campus.
“Students can see a more increased presence on campus, much more prevalent voice to administration that come to senate, we would encourage that these meetings are open to everyone,” Giovannelli said. “There are unlimited possibilities here that could happen if someone comes forward with their idea. We are the voice of everyone here and we want to continue to be that voice.”
