SGA holds first meeting of the fall semester

Six new senators were sworn into office at the beginning of Student Government Association’s first meeting of the 2012-2013 academic year, on Monday, Sept. 10 in the Connell Student Center.
“I’m really excited about our new senators and student correspondents who will be serving with us this year,” said Davis, after the meeting ended.
The senate voted to make a new student organization called The Interfaith Alliance official during new business. The organization’s goal is to provide a platform for students to discuss religion and democracy as well as promote religious freedom and tolerance.
Plans for Pilgrimage to Penfield were also discussed during the meeting. The event will be held on Oct. 19 and students can sign up for the trip on SGA’s home page. The new administration was very enthusiastic about all of the new initiatives that are currently being put into place including Paint the Town Orange, the PAW Points Incentive Program, and a Senior Gift program.
Davis commented about the upcoming year, “We hope to increase our services to students through our new initiatives like Paint the Town Orange and the PAW Points Incentive Program.”
The PAW Points Incentive Program seems to be the most popular new initiative among the senators right now. The objective of this incentive program is to increase school spirit among students using a positive points system for attendance at games.
“We are looking into expanding the athletics initiative program already through the PAW points program, and I myself have been encouraged to participate at a greater level in athletics due to the atmosphere of school spirit and genuine connection present in SGA this year,” said Senator Grey Newell.
Even the newly sworn in senators are anticipating great success from this incentive program.
One of the newest senators, Josh Soave said, “I am most excited about the PAW Points Athletic Incentive Program because I would love to see a higher student turnout at athletic events. Mercer’s athletes put in so much time and effort into their respective sports and they all deserve the support of the student body at their games.”
Another exciting new initiative that is being discussed at the moment is the possibility of changing the way that the senior gift has traditionally been done in the past.
When discussing the program, Senator Khoi Le said “This year, the senior gift committee is considering an initiative that would encourage senior Mercerians to contribute a friendly amount to a department or a student organization of their choice. This brand new initiative will offer us seniors a way to give back to Mercer and to commemorate our final year in a meaningful and practical way. As the senior class president, I’m quite excited to get input from my fellow seniors and see how the planning and implementation unfolds.”
Overall the senators were very optimistic about the goals they hope to accomplish this year.
Junior Class Senator Grey Newell said, “I firmly support the message of efficiency that has become pervasive in the senate and the new ideology represented by my fellow senators. SGA is a fresh experience to me still, but I believe this administration brings both experience and novel perspective to the issues of the student body this year. Long story short, I think everyone remains excited for the promise of the coming year.”