For the first time since its inception, the constitution of the Student Government Association (SGA) has structurally changed. SGA is a student association whose members are elected by the student body, and whose mission it is to administer funds to student-run clubs, to advance initiatives that support the interests of students and to advocate and mediate between the administration and the students. Previously, the roles students filled were by class-level, meaning in each year there would be a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, as well as an executive board to provide the leadership.
The new constitution flips the roles on their head. Rather than being decided by year, they are now dealing with specific issues or topics that the elected students will focus on during their year-long term of office. Some examples of new roles include Equity & Inclusion Representative, Wellbeing Representative, Academic Affairs Representative, Faith & Mission Representative, Dining Representative, Athletics Representative, as well as class representatives for each year and a commuter representative role to reflect the growing commuter population in Eastern’s undergraduate student body.
The new roles have fueled more energy in the student body. According to Dean Shane, this recent campus-wide election was the highest voter turnout in recent memory, with a total of 334 votes. Some candidates ran unopposed, while others were in crowded elections with three qualified candidates vying for the same position. Candidates made posters to put around campus, spread word of their election across friendship networks and made the claim that they were best suited for the role.
One newcomer to SGA is Juliana Etumnu, who won the election for Equity & Inclusion Representative. A second-generation Nigerian who grew up with other Nigerians in Philadelphia, Etumnu was drawn to the African-Caribbean Union (ACU) on campus. As Equity & Inclusion Representative, she hopes to have that sort of home away from home for other underrepresented ethnicities on campus. “Me personally, I feel like I belong a lot when I do things that have to do with the ACU…every time I get with them, I feel comfortable and I feel like they’re my people. So I feel like we can improve by having clubs for other people so they can also feel welcome,” Etumnu said.
Although she’s technically not a native Nigerian, the ACU has helped her to claim her ethnic identity. “There’s a lot of kids like me who are ethnically Nigerian but were born in the United States. I feel personally like I identify more with Nigeria. I like telling people I’m from there, because that’s home… I’m never ashamed to claim my Nigerian side.” This pride in her identity that stems from community inspired her to run for Equity & Inclusion Representative, to ensure others at Eastern can feel that same pride.
Another election victor is James Ugorji, an SGA veteran who ran unopposed for Wellbeing Representative. This will be Ugorji’s third year in office, previously holding the Executive Board Treasurer role as well as Junior Class Treasurer.
This past year, Ugorji was on the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), where he served with other students and partnered with the Health Center to encourage wellbeing at Eastern. On the committee, he and other students created events in the realm of wellbeing, which ignited a passion he brings with him to his role in SGA. “[Wellbeing] has always been something I’ve been interested in. When I saw the SGA role pop up, it sounded like a more direct opportunity to [create] change on campus…now I can initiate things, with a budget.” Ugorji said.
Ugorji wants to continue doing what already works. He pointed to events like the career fair or other big, outdoor events that draw lots of students. “People can kind of take a break from the busyness of class. Even if people don’t take all the information or are fully dedicated to it, at least they see it. These are things that, even just being exposed to it, will stay on your mind,” Ugorji said.
A specific topic in wellbeing Ugorji hopes to focus on is burnout. “Even yesterday, I was feeling so drained and I was thinking, ‘what can we do?’ It is inevitable you will feel tired, you will feel exhausted. What can we do to better help students [deal] with that?” Ugorji asked, noting he doesn’t yet have a clear answer and hopes to work towards that during his term of office. He encourages students to reach out to him with ideas or projects during the next year, so that ideas can be translated into action. “What do you want to see on campus? What systems do you want to see in place? We need systems where you can have access to wellbeing every single day,” Ugorji said.
So what is wellbeing, anyway? “Wellbeing is being active about knowing yourself, and doing your best to be the best version of yourself. If you don’t know you’re not doing well, then you cannot have wellbeing. So first, awareness. Once you have that awareness, you have to want to improve your wellbeing. It’s all about knowing what you want to work on. Sometimes it’s not even improvement, sometimes it’s sustenance. ‘Okay, I’m doing well, what tools can I put in place to help me to continue to do that?'” Ugorji said.
Ugorji has a holistic focus of wellbeing, that isn’t just related to physical health. “You can’t have one thing without another thing — they all connect. You having mental challenges can affect you physically. You having physical challenges can affect you mentally. You being spiritually depleted can mess you up mentally and physically. So it’s not just one aspect.”
As an SGA expert, Ugorji believes the new roles add focus to those elected. “When you have specific roles you can actively, constantly plug into it without feeling like ‘what do I do?’ or waiting for instructions. You have more control over your role and what you pour into it. It’s more of a streamlined process, where you can do your own role without needing outside support.”
With brand new roles and engaged students taking office, the future looks more energetic and more focused for SGA.
