Any student looking to run for senator or executive board positions in SGA should pick up an election packet at the Student Leadership and Involvement (SLI) office in Sawyer room 320. All packets must be brought to the SLI office, SGA office in Sawyer room 324 or the hub desk at Somerset by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
Those running for SGA e-board positions have to be nominated by another senator in order to run. SGA President Morgan Robb reminded senators, general members and nominees to act responsibly and professionally during the 2019-2020 election season.
“We are not meant to be a political organization,” said Robb. “The point of this organization is to represent the students.”
The first round of SGA e-board nominations for the 2019-2020 academic year took place on Feb. 14. The second and last round of nominations will be at Thursday’s meeting.
Bob Lamb, chair of the Board of Trustees, answered questions from SGA senators and shared updates from the Board at SGA’s Feb. 14 meeting.
Lamb said trustees have considered adding more STEM majors to Suffolk’s program offerings. Trustees have speculated that current majors could be reduced or gotten rid of to make more room for new or improved majors, but there are no plans currently to do so. The Board is also considering creating a school of public policy.
“Higher education is a business and you have to look at the marketplace and the demand from student enrollment,” said Lamb to SGA.
Trustees hope to make Suffolk a top 20 school in the U.S., where it currently ranks at 177. While there has been discussion of making Suffolk a research-focused university, Lamb said the Board’s focus will stay on serving its current student population, since “[the Board] would have to walk away from our mission of providing access and opportunity for people who might not have it otherwise.”
The Board has also discussed adding new residence halls and on-campus housing options, and is considering how close potential locations are to campus and MBTA stations.
“It is not going as quickly as I had hoped, but it’s not for a lack of trying,” said Lamb on the process.
Lamb said trustees are working to ensure Suffolk will never join the growing list of Massachusetts universities that have closed in recent years. He reassured SGA students that Suffolk is not in danger of closing.
“The job of the board and administration is to make sure we will never close Suffolk and doing the things we need to do to make Suffolk stronger, bigger and have a better value,” said Lamb.
