Welcome to MUSC SGA! We are excited that you have been elected to represent your college or organization on MUSC SGA and are joining us in our efforts as we strive to make positive changes on our campus for present and future students. The following information will give you an overview of the roles and responsibilities of SGA members. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask us! The easiest way to contact us is to send an email to (sga@musc.edu). We are looking forward to working with each and every one of you to make this a successful year!

SGA MEETINGS
Representatives are expected to attend biweekly Wednesday evening meetings in the Harper Student Center Auditorium (HSC 204). Dinner will be served at 5:00 pm, and the meetings will begin PROMPTLY AT 5:30 PM. Representatives arriving later than 5:30 pm will be asked to wait until after the meeting to get their dinner.
 
Representatives are allowed TWO UNEXCUSED ABSENCES per semester. An absence is considered excused if the representative sends a substitute from their class or organization to the meeting and notifies the SGA secretary at sga@musc.edu or a staff member at the Student Programs Office (792-2693) prior to the missed meeting.

Each representative will receive e-mail reminders about upcoming meetings. Every attempt will be made to keep meetings as short and efficient as possible; guest speakers will be limited to ten minutes.

MEETING DATES FOR 2009-10
FALL 2009
September 2
September 16
September 30
October 14
October 28
November 11
December 2

SPRING 2010
January 6
January 20
February 3
February 17
March 17
April 7
April 21

Please, mark your calendars now!

SGA ANNUAL RETREAT
Each representative is required to attend the annual SGA Retreat. Part 1 of the Retreat will be held during the Sept. 16th SGA meeting. Part 2 of the Retreat will be held at the Marriott Hotel on Lockwood Blvd. on Saturday, Sept. 19th at 8:30am.  The Retreat will conclude at 1pm.  Parts 1 and 2 of the annual Retreat are MANDATORY. 

COMMUNICATION
SGA representatives serve as liaisons between their classmates and the Student Government Association. Please bring any concerns or issues faced by your colleagues to the SGA meetings to be explored by the respective committee or the association as a whole. Dialogue or action concerning these and other issues should be relayed back to your classmates. As a representative, it is your responsibility to maintain communication between your classmates and the SGA.

We depend on SGA representatives to let the students know about activities and events that have been planned and to encourage student participation. An email announcement will be distributed to each representative about the dates and details of upcoming events. These announcements should be forwarded to your college or organization!

SGA spends a significant amount of time and money planning these events. Representatives should take ownership of these functions and promote them for maximum involvement. Our goal is to create an atmosphere of fun where all colleges can gather to meet new people and enjoy interaction outside academic routines.

Prompt and early announcements of SGA events should be made to prevent conflicting events that might take place within the individual colleges. Also, in order to help avoid conflicts, please make SGA aware of events your college or your association has planned.

In addition to passing these announcements along to your classmates, please help promote the following websites, which contain valuable and up-to-date information on MUSC SGA and other university-wide events and information:

www.musc.edu/sga
www.musc.edu/studentcommunication
www.musc.edu/studentevents
www.musc.edu/studentbroadcast
www.musc.edu/studentorganizations

EVENTS
SGA representatives are required to work (3) events in the Fall semester.  Working a clean-up shift will count as working two events.  For reps who are elected by August 24th, the first event you work must be the Back-to-School Party (please see Meg’s July 25th letter). For reps elected after August 24, you may choose (3) of the remaining events to work. In the Spring semester, you are required to work ALHAMBRA and 2 other events.

Sign-up sheets for upcoming events will be made available before the meetings begin at 5 p.m. outside the HSC auditorium.  Representatives should take the opportunity to sign up for functions as early as possible to ensure: 1) that our events are staffed sufficiently and executed effectively, and 2) that you are not rushed to fulfill your requirements at the end of the semester. It is your responsibility to arrive for your shift on time and to find a substitute worker if you are unable to fulfill your shift.

In the spring of each year we hold our biggest event: ALHAMBRA. It is mandatory for all SGA representatives to work one hour at this event. This year, ALHAMBRA is scheduled for Saturday, April 10, 2008. More details on this annual event will become available as the date draws near.

SERVICE PROJECTS
Multiple service projects will be scheduled each semester. Representatives are required to work one of the scheduled projects each semester. Remember that our participation in these projects reflects on MUSC SGA and the University. We need to take these opportunities to help others and show our commitment to the community.

COMMITTEES:

SGA COMMITTEES
All SGA representatives are required to serve on one of the five committees: Student Welfare, Academic Affairs, Programs, Communications and Service. The work of these committees is described in the SGA constitution, which will be distributed at the Retreat and on the SGA website. Representatives will sign up for these committees during Retreat Part 1 and should make sure that their college is represented on each one.

UNIVERSITY-WIDE COMMITTEES
SGA representation is requested on a number of University Committees. Currently, SGA represents the students’ voice on the following committees (committees as well as numbers of representatives are likely to change):

• Parking Committee - 2 Representatives
• Honorary Degree Committee - 1 Representative
• Educational Technology Committee - 2 Representatives
• Institutional Effectiveness Committee - 1 Representative
• Commencement Committee - 2 Representative
• Educational and Infrastructure Committee - 1 Representative

Representatives will be asked to volunteer to serve on these committees as their schedules permit. This is an excellent opportunity to meet faculty members, administrators, and influence University decision-making.

If you have any further questions regarding your roles and responsibilities, please contact the SGA Executive Board by email (SGA@MUSC.EDU). To contact any of the officers individually, please send an email t

Sheldon Bates (President)  batess@musc.edu
Tyler Pierce (Academic VP)  piercetc@musc.edu
Andrea Boan (Programs VP)  boan@musc.edu
Meg Croom (Secretary) mac70@musc.edu
John Brandt (Treasurer) brandt@musc.edu

We are looking forward to working with you, to make this a successful year!

Yours in service,

MUSC SGA Executive Board

Contact Us