Management senior Bea Forlano and sociology senior Mary Grace Stewart wrapped up their terms as leaders of the Student Government Association Tuesday night.
But before handing their jobs over to communications junior Martina Mills and communications sophomore Michelle Clarke, Forlano and Stewart reflected on their experiences with SGA in their final addresses to the Congress.
Forlano said the major event that made her realize her duties as president came in October, when then-president Bernard Knoth resigned.
“I thought we wouldn’t be able to get anything done,” Forlano said. “We’d spent the summer meeting with Father Knoth about what our vision for the year was. I thought an interim president would come in and not make any decisions.”
However, Forlano said she quickly found out that she was wrong about interim president the Rev. William Byron, S.J.
Many students reacted strongly when incidents of racism started occurring on campus during the fall semester, sparking a sit-in at the Board of Trustees Nov. 21 meeting. Forlano spent long hours in the SGA office writing a report on the history of racial issues at Loyola, prompting administrators to develop a Multi-Cultural Office in the Danna Center. Space for the center has already been cleared next to the bookstore.
“The full scope of the program is still in the proposal phases,” Forlano said, “but it will be the same idea as the Women’s Center or the Jesuit Center.”
Forlano also said that a major struggle for the SGA president is how loosely the position’s responsibilities are defined.
“There isn’t any real rule book for my job,” she said. “You are the figurehead that represents students and you react to big issues that come up on campus; there is no set agenda because it all depends on how the year plays out.”
Stewart said she had wanted to be SGA vice president since her freshman year.
“I was really influenced by the person that served as Vice President that year,” Stewart said. “[She] worked really well with the Congress.”
The vice president’s primary job is to lead the elected student representatives, and also to run
the Appropriations Committee, which allocates student fees to campus organizations.
Stewart says that she has been working very closely with Congress to develop new student leaders and to help them set and accomplish goals.
“I feel like I’ve given certain members of Congress that little extra push they needed to make them the strong leaders that they are capable of being,” Stewart said. “I also really enjoyed doing the appropriation side of the job.”
Forlano and Stewart were elected – without the need for a run-off election – last year to fill the highest positions of Student Government Association. And, although both said their positions as president and vice president may be stressful at times, they said the experience was well worth the strain.
“I really liked the visibility of the position,” Forlano said. “It really made my day when a random student would feel comfortable enough to come up to me and just talk about issues that were on their mind. Students have an immense amount of power, and the president and vice president have to recognize that. Faculty and staff can only say so much, but the administration cannot fire a student.”
Stewart said the end of her term is bittersweet.
“I’m very sad that this year is pretty much over,” Stewart said. “SGA has allowed me to form awesome friendships and relationships. I’ve been involved with a lot of things at Loyola, but nothing matched this year.”
Forlano said that the SGA president and vice president should come into the office with a strong relationship, which helps to make the experience all the more worthwhile.
“Bea and I had a huge advantage because we have been friends since freshman year,” Stewart said. “The president and vice president have to become friends, or else the whole experience will be miserable.”
~ Grace Wilson can be reached at [email protected].
