An easy to overlook impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was the quiet whittling down of the University of Wisconsin Superior’s Student Government Association (SGA) amidst the temporary widespread transition to online classes. Coming into the fall of 2021 SGA had only four members and a similarly small crew had overseen things during 2020. The results of elections held this year on October 26 and subsequent runoffs on November 4 saw some 18 nominated and write-in candidates competing for nine posts.
The Senator-elects include: at-large-senators Lexy Doolittle, Callie Lier, and Brianna Vigil; Math, Computer Science, Natural Sciences, Health & Human Performance Departments senators Chang Dae Kang and Madelyn Larson; World Languages, Literatures, & Cultures; Communicating Arts; Music; Visual Arts Departments Senator Wesley Kratz-Gullickson-Morgan; and Elementary Education and School of Business & Economics Departments Senators Tamami Igeta and Burhan Saria. One vacancy remained in the representation for the Arts. They will be joining incumbents: President Christian Quadros; at-large-senator Elliana Waring; and Social Inquiry and Human Behavior, Justice, and Diversity Departments Senators Olivia Harding and Zoe Tietz.
The purpose of the SGA is to represent student interests in the university’s governance. These duties include: providing input in all matters concerning student life, services, and interests; managing the disbursement of Segregated Allocation Committee (SUFAC) funds; and selection of student members to participate in university governance committees. In practice this means SGA puts students on university policy boards that incorporate student representation and provides money for student organizations. With twelve members SGA will be better able to delegate these responsibilities among its members and better articulate student interests.
