The 2024-2025 University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Student Government Association (SGA) elections have concluded and the results are in.
The new executive committee representing the UL Lafayette student body spoke about the plans that they have already begun executing following elections, as well as the steps that they will be taking moving forward.
The total number of votes was 1,794. Cade Roy (Action) was elected as SGA president, Jasim Ali (Action) was elected as SGA vice president and Brooke Davenport (Action) was elected as SGA treasurer.
Caemon Scott will also be playing a significant role in the new executive committee as the chief of staff.
Members of both election parties have been tirelessly campaigning for two weeks, showing their heartfelt passion in leading and representing the student body.
When asked how they felt after winning the elections, Roy said, “It was a long process, but I think I speak for all of us when I say it was very rewarding.”
“Very humbling as well, to know that we have the support and backing of our student body that trusts us to enact good change within our campus and represent them,” Ali added.
Since the elections ended, the new executive committee has begun the transition with the current administration and started working on the student audit.
Transparency with student fees is what the executive committee is striving to achieve. They also hope to let students have more of a say in where the money that they pay to the school goes.
“I have been sitting in on the judicial meetings seeing what questions are being asked, what fees we are looking at and how we can edit those and get them on the ballot in the fall so the students can actually vote and have a voice on the fees for the first time in more than a decade,” Davenport stated.
The executive committee has also started brainstorming on ways to promote mental health. They have been looking at the policies on campus that can be improved, including the use of the Emergency Notification System (ENS) and wellness checks.
Scott, who spearheaded last semester’s Mental Health Week, aims to expand its reach even further. He aims to improve communication and engagement in order to get organizations and other students on campus to get on board with Mental Health Week as well.
Davenport and Scott have been working on placing feminine hygiene products in restrooms across campus. They have begun this project at athletic facilities and Maxim Doucet Hall. This project is expected to expand with organizations and companies reaching out to supply feminine products.
The committee is also working towards adding a syllabus bank to the registration dashboard so that students can see the syllabi before they register for classes.
They also hope to push back the dropping of a class date without a “W” further into the semester so that students can make a better decision regarding whether they would want to drop a class.
From initiatives like the above mentioned, to student audits that could take financial stress off students, to increased funding for departments that will promote student wellness, they all add up to promoting mental wellness on campus.
In light of the recent unfortunate events, the committee was asked what they think their role should be in such circumstances.
In response, the committee stressed on letting the voices of students be heard.
Roy said, “The protest that happened in Basil’s memory actually migrated into our SGA meeting, so they were given the floor to make comments about what they thought their perspective on the situation was.”
From this meeting, they passed a piece of legislation that condemned the university’s response to the suicide of Basil Brown.
“With the protest coming in the SGA meeting, we definitely want students to know their voices are heard, and if they have concerns come to us because I know if you give us a concern we are going to get the ball rolling and try to find which avenue we can find the right answer,” Scott added.
The student body can be sure that the SGA is open to hearing all that students have to say, and that they will try their absolute best to address the issues and concerns.
Davenport said, “We are a group of 40 students representing more than 14,000, we don’t see everything we don’t hear everything so theoretically we want every SGA meeting, if you see something happen or you have a concern, come to the meeting.”
The executive committee hopes to continue the line of communication that they built up with students over the campaigning period by putting action to the things that they want to bring change to.
They also wish to maintain and grow the rapport built with the students who supported them through elections.
Overall, the 2024-2025 SGA executive committee have dedicated themselves to their newly elected positions and are ready to represent the student body to their fullest potentials.