The 2023-2024 Freshman Forum was officially announced on Sept. 21. Freshman Forum is a group of 54 first-year students at Auburn University appointed by members of Student Government Association (SGA).
“Freshman Forum looks to serve as the voice for the freshman class through collecting feedback and communicating with their constituents in order to advocate for change,” said Bennett Harris, director of Freshman Forum.
Harris is a junior in marketing with a minor in training and workforce development. He began working for SGA his freshman year as a member of Freshman Forum.
“My main goal as director is to guide them in the right direction of building relationships as well as helping them grow personally and professionally within their leadership skills,” Harris said.
Harris explained the various channels through which freshmen can engage with the Freshman Forum, to express suggestions, complaints and ask questions. A student may speak directly with someone on the committee through a form on Auburn Answers In the Spring, students are invited to attend an event that Freshman Forum hosts called "Serve. Promote. Unify." During this event, the forum collects feedback from the freshman class.
Harris and his team worked tirelessly to select the members of this year's Freshman Forum. Selecting members is a very rigorous process, with this year being particularly competitive, as the committee had to whittle down 507 applicants to 54. Harris revamped the application process this year, which now involves an initial application submission, followed by two rounds of interviews and concludes with call outs.
“Call outs is an Auburn tradition that happens on the back steps of Katharine Cooper Cater Hall, where the leaders of a specific organization announce the new members that were selected,” Harris said.
Harris emphasized that prior leadership experience is not a prerequisite for aspiring leaders and service-oriented individuals.
"We wanted to eliminate that narrative as much as possible this year with the main goal of the students really having a passion for service and a passion for leadership and being servant-minded," Harris said.
Members of Freshman Forum meet every week, where they engage in conversations in order to advocate for their peers and bring different perspectives onto the table to become change makers at Auburn.
For those who weren't selected for the Freshman Forum, Harris offered reassurance, "My advice to people that didn't happen to get chosen for the team was this is not an end-all-be-all."
Moreover, freshmen have various avenues to engage with SGA even if they aren't part of the Freshman Forum. Harris highlighted the EXP branch, which stands for expand, experience and explore. Students who sign up are granted access to a GroupMe, facilitating their involvement in various activities such as shaker distribution, Aubie committee and helping with Heyday.
Freshmen are welcome to advocate for issues they wish to be addressed. As the academic year unfolds, the Auburn community will be able to witness changes initiated by Freshman Forum and see how they impact Auburn's campus.
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