On Thursday night, Ramon Alexander and Phillip Agnew were sworn into office as Student Government Association President and Vice-President in Lee Hall. The positions of Senate President, Senate Pro-tempore and Chief Justice were also sworn in last night.
The ceremony began with a speech from Interim President Castell V. Bryant who expressed her admiration and trust in the student leaders.
The inauguration served as a brief award for Alexander and Agnew who already began their duties this summer.
While most students went home for the summer, SGA prepared for the new school year. They attended leadership conferences, meetings and traveled around Florida to help generate a positive image for the school.
Many students are unaware of the role SGA plays on campus. Cornell Steward, a 23-year-old senior pharmacy student from Miami, doesn’t believe the actions of SGA will affect him personally.
SGA President, Ramon Alexander, 21,hopes to end this belief and spark change. “Our goal is to improve the quality of life for every student on campus whether that’s indirectly or directly,” said Alexander, a senior political science student.
“We are not going to be perfect but we are going to do everything in our power until the end of the term to make that a reality,” the Tallahassee native said.
Some students believe SGA has already begun to improve the quality of life on campus.
“The student activities have been great and they seem to be making everyone stay happy,” said Katondra Myers, 18, an incoming freshman.
Myers, a pharmacy student from Palm Beach, believes SGA will be great this year because of the people placed in charge.
Alexander and Agnew recently went to the financial aid office to access the long lines. They convinced Interim President. Castell V. Bryant to visit the Foote Hilyer building and extend the deadline for registration.
The two leaders also negotiated to get Set Fridays back on the Set.
The State of Black Student Summit, scheduled for Sept. 27 and 28, is designed to bring influential blacks to campus.
Some guests on the panel include Omar Tyree, Cousin Jeff, Dr. Castell Bryant, and Bishop Eddie Long.
Though SGA has many plans in place for this school year, many students are not aware of what SGA does.
Derrick McCray, 18, a business administration freshman student from Palm Beach said SGA should be more visible
For students like McCray, being uninformed about the events in SGA will no longer be a problem.
Clear Channel and Cumulus Broadcasting have agreed to allow radio commercials to air 21 times a week on 96.1FM and 102.3FM and there will be a new bi-weekly newsletter written to inform students.
“Even if students don’t drive by our electronic message board, see a billboard, talk to people on our street team, read the FAMUAN or bi-weekly newsletter, they will now be able to hear information on the radio,” Agnew said.
According to the SGA vice president, students will also be allowed to write one question in the Capitol Outlook newspaper and the question will be answered the following week.
Agnew said a main goal of the two leaders is to let students and the outside community know that SGA is working to improve some of the problems at FAMU.
contact Sarah Chester at famuannews@hotmail.com.