Student organizations could soon have a greater voice of representation in Florida A&M’s Student Government Association.
Student Body President Anthony Siders is prepared to present legislation that will create a new body of legislators – the student house of representatives.
“This new body of student leaders will give a voice to the voiceless and a vote to the unseen,” Siders said.
Siders said FAMU’s SGA uses the United States government as a model.
There are two official bodies in the U.S. legislature, but there is only one body in SGA, the student senate.
“I think the issue with the Student Government Association is that we have not reached the optimal representation of the student government by the way that our student senate is structured,” Siders said.
The student senate consists of 35 students, eight undergraduate senators and three graduate senators.
Although there is representation from all classes, the student senate mainly comprises freshmen and sophomores with undeclared majors, making it difficult to have representation from different colleges and schools.
The student house of representatives will focus on including representation from all 14 colleges and schools.
The plan to create a student house of representatives will be executed as a formula.
After calculating the amount of enrolled students in a particular college or school, that number will be divided by the total number of students enrolled at FAMU.
Sen. Hakim Henderson, a freshman business administration student from Tampa, will serve as the sponsor for this bill.
“It’s an exciting time in the history of student leadership here at FAMU,” he said. “I’m especially honored to be a part of the birth of something that will change the course of student life.”
Sherie Carter, a junior business administration student from Kansas, is curious about how a new student government branch will affect the students.
“I am interested in seeing how this will improve retention within the student body as well as possible improvements throughout each college and school on campus,” Carter said.