Every year, the Student Government Association has open positions for students, but seemingly, there is a lack of advertisement for the available positions in student government.
They can run for office and have classmates vote, or students can apply for positions and go about the proper hiring procedures.
Ronnica Jenkins, chief justice of the Student Traffic Court, would like to see more students join SGA.
“I hope that students are interested in joining SGA and helping host programs, write legislation and secure justice for the student body,” Jenkins said. “I don’t know why anyone would not want to be a part of SGA since our job is to serve the student body.”
After surveying a few students, the recurring theme was that either individuals did not want to be involved with SGA because of the supposed “messiness” associated with student politics, or they just did not know how to get involved.
“I’ve never been aware of a real forum on how to be a part of student government,” said Juliet Martin, a professional MBA student from Sarasota. “But, I believe our SGA is like SGA in high school but on a college level, dealing with more issues and definitely more money.”
However, there are procedures for advertising positions.
“Each branch is responsible for publicizing their openings,” said Darryl Gordon, chief of staff of the Executive Branch. “Per our governing documents, we must advertise for a minimum of 10 business days.”
SGA has a lot to offer Florida A&M’s campus, from ensuring that certified student organizations have funds allocated to them so that they can function to creating campus programs to inform the student body on the pressing issues that affect them.
But, even with the publication of open positions, or lack thereof, these positions are out there and are only an application away.
For those interested in being part of student government, the Legislative branch has one junior senator seat open and the Judicial branch needs an associate justice of the Student Traffic Court.
Those who are interested can apply online at famu.edu/SGA or visit the student government offices in the Student Union Office Building, room 3624 and fill out an application during daytime hours.