Mass communication junior and SGA Senator Jasmine Barnes has made a difference on campus this year through SGA. Through an initiative she pursued with the help of student feedback on campus, she was able to plan for the installation of cell phone charging stations on campus.
Barnes and fellow senators in Loyola’s SGA have initiatives like this every year, which correspond with their constituents’ needs and concerns and attempt to change life on campus for the better.
Initiatives are a required responsibility of being a SGA senator on campus, according to SGA Vice President Michael Falotico. The primary focus of the initiatives required of the senators is to keep in contact with the constituents of the university, according to Falotico. Senators must keep an ear to the student body to hear what is needed, what must be changed and to try to initiate that change through the student government.
“Senators are asked to take a scope of the campus to see what needs to be done,” Falotico said.
At the start of her venture for initiatives, Barnes placed
comment boxes at various locations on campus in order for students to easily voice their concerns or visions for improvement on campus. “I am encouraging students to use the comment box and from there I will sift through the comments and bring issues to senate,” Barnes said.
Barnes said that she initially had trouble finding efficient charging stations for Loyola’s campus, but Tulane now has one installed in the LBC. Fortunately she was able to use the same company that Tulane used to install their charging stations. Barnes then wrote a resolution and got it passed in SGA Senate on Nov. 28, she said.
The charging stations were a high priority for Barnes because students requested them. Barnes was able to get three charging stations funded through the “legislative contingency,” she said. The charging stations will be found near seating areas, for example in the Danna Center, according to Barnes.
“We will have three stations with eight ports at each fitting all types of phones and we have an agreement with the company to replace cords if needed. This could be for damaged cords or for example the new iPhone 5 cord,”
barnes said.
Falotico explained that the
senators are asked to have two initiatives per semester, making it four initiatives for the entire year, although many senators go beyond that.
Initiatives are important for SGA and they devote a portion of their funding just to help senators get their ideas set in motion, according to Falotico. Although senators are asked to come up with their own individual initiatives, they can ask for help from other senators and collaborate somewhat in order to help the process go quickly and efficiently, Falotico said.
“Senators are asked to have one campus-wide and one college- wide initiative, depending on how intensive these initiatives are,” Falotico said.
The senator initiatives are a product of the student body’s voice and concerns. If you want something changed on campus or in your college, talk to the senator for your college or use Jasmine’s Barnes’s drop boxes to leave a comment.
Jonathan Cepelak can be reached at [email protected]
