Elections
The Student Government Association Vice-President of Student Services conducts the elections for SGA executive officers and for all class officers. To answer questions in a more logical manner, this page is arranged in a question answer style.
When are elections held?
Freshmen officers are elected at the beginning of the academic year in the Fall. Sophomore, junior, and senior class officers are elected at the end of the school year in the spring and serve in that position for the following year. SGA executive officers are elected in the spring along with the sophomore, junior, and senior class officers; SGA officers begin training for their position immediately and officially take office before the spring term has ended. Should a vacancy of an SGA executive office position due to resignation, withdrawal from Berry, impeachment, or death occur, a special election would be held within three weeks. If the position is vacated during a college break (summer, Christmas, etc) the special election will occur within three weeks of the start of classes.
Who can vote?
Only currently enrolled students may vote in any student election. Only members of each class are allowed to vote for their respective class officers. This rule is very strictly maintained though roster checks and picture identification. All students can vote for the Student Government Association officer positions.
What positions are available?
The class officer positions are President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The SGA executive officer positions are President, Vice President of Student Services, Vice President of Campus Services, Secretary, and Treasurer.
What do the class officers do?
Class officers help their class by leading their classmates in campus involvement and foster class camaraderie by hosting class socials. Their main projects are fundraisers such as car washes, talent shows, bake sales, t-shirt sales, etc. The junior class uses the funds they have raised since their freshman year to sponsor the Spring Formal. The senior class uses its funds to give a Senior Gift to the college. Funds are also used for memorials, donations, and other worthy causes that the class wishes to sponsor.
What do the SGA executive officers do?
SGA officers are charged with the vast responsibility of representing the student body to the college administration, faculty, and staff. They perform or coordinate the many services [link to services page] that SGA offers. All five SGA officers are paid twenty hours a week (although their positions often require many extra unpaid hours!). The Student Government Association also has an office that is staffed and run entirely by the SGA executive officers.
More specifically, each officer has tasks that are accorded to the position by the SGA Constitution and that have evolved out of necessity.
- The SGA President is in charge of presiding over SGA meetings, supervising and helping with the work of the other officers, meeting weekly with administrative officials to discuss current and upcoming campus events and student concerns, attending and speaking at college events, and many other tasks.
- The SGA Vice President of Student Services position deals mostly with administrative and student affairs issues. He or she assumes the rights and the responsibilities of SGA President in the absence of the President, and fills the role in the event of the President's permanent departure. He or she also runs the SGA Bookswap and Bellhops services.
- The SGA Vice President of Campus Services position is oriented around SGA projects and service roles, such as blood drives and charity projects. He or she chairs the SGA Mountain Day Project Committee and runs the Birthday Cake and Final Exam Kits programs.
- The SGA Secretary is responsible for taking the minutes at SGA meetings, keeping track of service project events, planning for all SGA receptions, and running several projects including the Food for Finals and the Campus Christmas Tree lighting projects, as well as the Mountain Day SGA Alumni Reunion.
- The SGA Treasurer maintains the financial records of the SGA and chairs the SGA Budget and Finance Committee, which reviews all requests for SGA Financial Assistance and Campus Improvements ideas. The SGA Treasurer also runs the MicroFridge rental service.
Who is eligible to run for SGA executive office or class office?
All positions require a minimum 2.5 Berry College Grade Point Average. Class officer positions are open only to members of the respective class. SGA officers should be full-time students. The positions of SGA Treasurer, SGA Secretary, and SGA Vice President Campus Services are open to members of the sophomore, junior, and senior classes. The positions of SGA Vice President Student Services and SGA President are open to those members of the Junior and Senior classes.
Last Updated 1-27-07