By Noah Bloch
While Concordia students may not realize it, the Student Government Association’s (SGA) 35 members are constantly working in the background of many events on campus.
In simple terms, SGA acts as a middleman between the Concordia student body, its administration and its faculty.
“SGA is a liaison from the student body, but also to the faculty, staff members, as well as the administration,” says SGA President Rachel Huynh.
Vice President Mason Dahl says, “one of the big [purposes] is being able to represent the student body, be able to address any concerns they might have, or if they have ideas for change on campus for the future.”
SGA has direct contact with President Irvine, as Huynh and Dahl meet with him throughout the semester.
“Whenever we hear concerns from students or fun ideas that we may have, we show all those to him. We keep him updated on those things,” says Huynh.
One of the clearest ways that SGA aids students at Concordia is through directly funding many activities and clubs.
SGA has access to a few different funds which all serve different purposes.
Student Activity Fee
One of these is the Student Activity Fee fund (SAF). Currently, Concordia students pay $330 per year to this fund. Some of this money goes directly to things like the Olson Forum fitness balcony, the MAT Bus program, and even funding the Concordian.
Leftover money is under the control of SGA and is available for student organizations to request
SAF funds can be used for events and even travel expenses. A student organization leader can request SAF funds on cobber connect under their “budget” tab in Cobber Connect.
There is no minimum or maximum dollar amount an organization can request and there is no limit to how many times they can request (that does not mean your budget will be approved, however).
Special Projects and Initiatives Fund
Another fund available to students is the Special Projects and Initiatives Fund, or SPIF.
Simply put, this is a fund for big, one time events that benefit a large section of the student body. The recent Hunter Pinke speaker event is an example of an event funded by SPIF.
Any student can apply via a form on SGA’s website.
Event Planning
In addition to supplying funding, SGA members are actively involved in improving the campus in many other ways.
“SGA does have power. If students send us an email about something going on on campus, we are able to figure out the groups where we can address that concern,” says President Huynh.
Student input to SGA has directly led to recent renovations in the Maize, the library, as well as events like “4LuvOfDog,” a collaborative event with a local puppy shelter.
Some other initiatives Concordia students have SGA to thank is the free New York Times subscription students have access to as well as the recent InForum subscription (Fargo-Moorhead area news).
How to Get in Touch
Students can contact SGA representatives in a few ways.
There is a form on their instagram as well as an SGA email (sga@cord.edu) that students can contact with feedback. In addition, Dahl says students should feel free to talk to SGA members directly with ideas or concerns.
“We are open to anybody, and we would just appreciate [students], you know, feeling like they can bring something up. So I just want it to be known that SGA is here for students, so they’ve got nothing to worry about in that regard,” says Vice President Dahl.
