The committee chairs in SGA are preparing to complete their terms this spring semester and set precedents in areas such as election law, student representation and sustainability.
Meredith Smith, Code of Laws committee chair, said her committee is focused on making necessary corrections to election law.
“At the beginning of this term, my committee members researched their assigned title of the Code to determine what laws needed to be updated,” Smith said. “During the fall semester, we focused on passing the audit of Title 700, which is election law, because it is the biggest chapter of the Code.”
Smith wants the audits to pass during this upcoming semester, so it will be easier to understand for future senators and Auburn students.
“My goal for this next semester is to pass the audits of the remaining titles so the Code is fully updated by the end of my term,” Smith said. “Additionally, I want to update the layout of the Code, so it’s more professional and easier to use.”
Drake Pooley, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs committee chair, said he is placing importance on making sure the student body is properly represented in SGA.
“By the end of January, SGA’s Diversity and Multicultural Affairs Committee will be releasing the first ever State of Diversity in SGA report, outlining key facts and figures relating to different ethnicities, gender, et cetera,” Pooley said. “This is a really exciting opportunity for us to get a picture on how representative we really are of the student body we represent and will also provide baseline figures for how we can improve SGA’s diversity in the future.”
The Diversity and Multicultural Affairs Committee plans on reaching out to campus organizations more this semester as well, according to Pooley.
“We are also looking to continue expanding our outreach to the different organizations on campus, as each senator on DMAC is currently tasked with representing four to six diverse student organizations,” Pooley said. “As President Gogue has spoken to the Auburn Family about, we are looking to work closely with upper administration to come up with action steps we can take in the student senate.”
Trey Fields, Student Affairs committee chair, is focusing on green efforts, such as recycling and conserving energy, because the Sustainability Committee no longer exists in SGA.
“That is something that I am personally passionate about, so I have kind of lumped that now defunct committee into the duties of the Student Affairs Committee,” Fields said. “I am looking into some of the energy output on campus and why we leave lights on pretty much all the time in some buildings.”
Fields said he wants to look into why the Haley Center, the recreation center, RBD Library and Jordan-Hare Stadium seem to have their lights on for unnecessary amounts of time.
“Seems like a gross waste of energy and resources to me,” Fields said.
The Student Affairs Committee is also looking to start a dialogue with the City of Auburn about recycling.
“Since coming to Auburn, and especially after moving off campus after my freshman year, I was surprised that the city of Auburn didn’t recycle,” Fields said. “I think with Auburn-Opelika being one of, if not the fastest growing metropolitan area in the state, it’s about time this community got on board with a pretty common, modern practice like a basic city-wide recycling program.”
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