After months of recruiting student groups and revising its constitution, the Student Group Union will hold its first executive committee election Feb. 5 through Feb. 8.
The SGU, an initiative designed to facilitate better coordination among student organizations, was launched in October with the hope of resolving the frustration some groups have felt in their dealings with the university administration and the Student Activities Commission.
“Since the kickoff, we’ve been building momentum, raising awareness and gathering feedback,” Co-Chair Eitan Paul (SFS ’12) said. “We’ve been communicating with numerous groups to make sure SGU is something they feel comfortable about. Overwhelmingly, student groups have been incredibly excited about this opportunity.”
When the group got off the ground last semester, students expressed concerns regarding the classification of student organizations as well as the representation system that SGU plans to use.
The executive committee will be comprised of one representative from each of 11 categories of student organizations: media, performing arts, volunteer, advocacy, cultural, political, religious, common interest, club sports, student government and non-advisory board groups.
Sixty-five student organizations had signed the constitution as of press time, according to Paul.
Each member organization will be granted one vote for the executive committee member in its group category. To be eligible for election, students must have previously been or currently be an officer in a Georgetown student organization. Voting will be instant runoff, meaning that voters will rank candidates on their ballots.
Once the executive committee is elected next week, SGU will be fully operational.
“There could be a potential misconception that this could be just another form of bureaucracy, but it is important for people to know that this is a paradigm shift in how student resources are used,” SGU steering committee member Emma Green (COL ’12) said.
Following elections, student group leaders will meet once per semester to discuss their ideas and needs, while the executive committee will meet every 15 days to address any concerns raised by SGU members and to foster better connections among clubs.
“The vast majority of groups rarely connect to one another, so often it’s difficult for student groups to navigate through the complicated bureaucracy within the university,” Paul said.
