Erica Siaulnski, Staff Writer
SUNY Oneonta’s Student Association is the university’s student government body. Their website states that “Together, we serve as the liaison between administration, faculty, and students. We sit on external committees where we voice student input on the decisions made that affect all of the campus community and provide services for students on and off campus”.
Multiple students serve on the executive board as student body members, having meetings each Tuesday at 6:30 in the Waterfront room in Hunt Union, which are open to all students to attend. I had the opportunity of sitting in on a meeting this past Tuesday, March 3rd.
Their mission statement is, “The Student Association of The State University of New York at Oneonta is dedicated to fostering and maintaining meaningful relationships between the students, faculty, & administration to be effective in advocating for and allocating resources towards bettering the well-being of the student body.” Each meeting combines opening the floor to questions, announcements of events happening on campus, as well as other on and off-campus activities involving SUNY Oneonta.
Senior Madeline Phillips, Executive VP, spoke about what her experience was like being in the Student Association. “The first place I saw the Student Association was at the club expo my sophomore year. I wasn’t super involved on campus and was looking for ways to get involved. I met the people there and wanted to join immediately. I became a senator that semester, and at the end of the year, I ended up running for a chair position. I was chair of external affairs my junior year, and I loved working in the office and wanted to stay there, so I ran for executive vice president. This was a bit intimidating, but I did end up getting the position. As EVP, I work to engage the senator, run our SA meetings, and work on outreach. I love getting to sit on campus committees with admin and faculty to get to use my voice in big decisions and discussions that will impact everyone on campus. Being in the student association and having several positions has made me more confident, given me the ability to advocate for the student body, and really brought me out of my shell. Being a senior about to graduate, I can 100% say that getting involved on campus has changed my college experience for the better. I would have never developed into the person I am without the opportunities in SA and SUNY Oneonta in general.”
Their website involves more details about getting involved and attending meetings.
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