Under New President, SGA Seeks to Improve Transparency and Campus Activities
SGA has a clear pathway for their goals as they are finally over the hurdle of COVID.
While SGA has always existed at Mississippi College, there has been a misunderstanding about what the role of SGA is and what changes they have made on campus. New president Jameson Cook hopes to change this stigma and be transparent with the campus body about what changes SGA makes and how decisions are made with the students’ well-being in mind.
“Last year was the most efficient [year] that I’ve had in SGA. We’re coming over from a lot of setbacks and challenges like COVID restrictions, budget issues, and now an influx of new students. But I know that I and my staff are ready for whatever comes,” said Cook, who served in SGA under former president Rachel Smith. “She encouraged me to do [SGA] since the end of sophomore year and has given me so many resources to fall back on. She was a great presence to serve under for sure.”
For this year, SGA has a clear pathway ahead for their goals as they now are finally over the hurdle of COVID and having solved the challenge of returning Mississippi College’s campus life back to what it was before the pandemic. Because the school year’s budget has not been announced yet, independent events and other goals cannot be revealed.
“We have lots of ideas for fundraisers and ways that we can benefit the campus so far,” said Cook. “We want to try and keep improving the athletics’ relationship on campus, specifically with clubs and tribes. We began to tackle last year with the MC Olympics, and the most recent thing we’ve been working on is bringing a pickleball court to MC.”
Along with the multitude of ideas, Cook seeks to bring awareness and transparency to the question all students have always had in the back of their minds: ‘What does SGA do on Campus?’
“There have been many things that both myself and others wanted to improve internally within SGA to make things more efficient, which I’m excited to try,” said Cook. “One of my main topics is answering ‘What is SGA?’ because all of us could give a short answer. But what I want for this coming year is for everyone on campus to eventually resonate with SGA on a personal level and truly know what we stand for and do.”
While the budget for SGA should answer both the executive council and students’ questions on what is in store from SGA on campus this year, the relationship and transparency between the two are on the forefront of Cook’s mind for this upcoming academic year. While the influx of new students will bring in both obstacles and opportunities for the executive council, they are eager and confident about what the next year has in store.