With the beginning of the new school year, the new Student Government Association (SGA) President, JP Jarecki, junior political science major, and Vice President, Andy Sanford, senior biology major, are hitting the ground running. Some of the issues at the forefront of their minds are commuter involvement, handicap accessibility, facilitating a Winter Festival, and making SGA more accessible and transparent.

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“One of the things that we’re really focused on is making sure commuters have a place socially on this campus,” said Jarecki. “We talked about that during the campaign, and it’s something that we’re really interested in now. We’ve been doing a lot of club collaboration, and obviously supporting clubs so that they can make events that...are extremely inclusive of commuters.” According to Sanford, a key part to this campaign is expanding the E bus hours so more students who rely on the bus are able to stay on campus longer to attend events.

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SGA plays a crucial role in club activity since they approve proposals for funding for events. The new officers want more clubs to work together to create bigger and more inclusive events than in the past. This way, they can get more students engaged in new and exciting events, especially those students who are most difficult to reach.

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“I guess, more or less, this year is about communication and trying to figure out better avenues of getting more students, even on campus who are in the far reaches by Ohio, Almi, and Trippe Hall...to come down here in what I call the hub of the campus,” said Sanford. That may include better utilizing BehrendSync, posting flyers, or finding a unique way to communicate what is going on outside of class.

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Last week Jarecki and Sanford attended a meeting to discuss a wheelchair lift for the stage in Bruno’s. This way, handicapped students are better able to participate in activities that take place on the stage. According to Sanford, the lift was in the works last year and was never finished, so they are making sure the project is done as soon as possible. They would also like to have PSU alerts that are tailored specifically for handicapped students that announce when walkways, elevators, and doors are out of commission so they can plan ahead for the inconvenience.

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Winter Festival, a new event with participation from clubs, is an idea that the SGA would like to see happen this year. Their thought is to have clubs run the event with help from SGA, although there are not any concrete plans in the works yet. This is just one example of the SGA’s efforts to improve club collaboration.

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SGA is also planning on taking a hard look at events that clubs do and decide whether or not the events are working. As a whole, they want to push past the status quo and challenge clubs to try new things and improve their old events.

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Sanford also discussed a sanitation campaign that involves more hand sanitizer stations and wipes for keyboards to help decrease the spread of illness. He talked about key times during the school year when there are a high number of sick students, including after breaks and during finals weeks.

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Jarecki and Sanford stressed the need for students to become more involved in the community outside of the Behrend campus. Whether that be in Harborcreek or in Erie as a whole, they hope that more students can volunteer their time to make the community a better place.

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The SGA is continuing to raise money to establish an SGA scholarship. About $8,000 have been raised over the past five years, but they need $20,000 total. In order to speed up the funding, SGA is looking for new and effective ways to raise money at a faster rate.

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One of the main things Jarecki and Sanford want to improve is the student’s ability to see what SGA is doing and to become more involved in the process. They are working on finding the best way to put their meetings online and to make student’s opinions more accessible.

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Overall, Jarecki and Sanford are both optimistic about what they can accomplish during this new school year.

“I think we are excited because the more that you are involved in the process, the more that you see opportunities. We are going to be pursuing those to the current extent,” said Jarecki.

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SGA meetings are Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in Reed 114. All students are encouraged to attend and have a hand in the decisions being made.