January 2019 Newsletter
- SpelmanSGA
- Jan 1, 2019
- 8 min read
Updated: Jan 15, 2019
Hey, Spelmanites and friends! We are so excited for Spring 2019, so you know we had to bring you a Fall 2018 recap of our work around our beloved campus and AUC community. Spelman SGA inducted the 77th Administration to the 77 year old fold of dynamic SGA student leaders in May of 2018. They introduced new positions such as Director of Special Populations, Director of Compliance and Safety, and Secretary of Spelman Technology Services, and they welcomed four sophomore board members— one of the largest sophomore intake the organization has ever done with a board that usually consists of upperclassmen.
President's Memoir
As President, Bria hit the ground running as she led meetings and town halls with key administrators, including President Campbell, Vice President Holloman and Dean Brown-McClure. Bria acted as the Student Representative for the Fall Board of Trustees Meeting to ensure the students' perspective was considered in their discussion and decisions. Bria spoke at several major events and rallies on campus, including various NSO events, the When We All Vote Rally, and the Georgia Democrats Campaign Rally featuring Stacey Abrams and Barack Obama. Yet, her most memorable moment was welcoming the class of 2022, all transfer and PED students to Spelman at the Induction Ceremony in early August. She looks forward to the spring semester and the 77th Administration continuing to make their mark on Spelman's campus.
As Co-First Year Liaisons, Jaelan Sanon and Fana HaileSelassie kicked off the year by planning a successful Leadership Night during New Student Orientation. Between SpelCard Revoked, the class song, and the energy of the Class of 2022 SGA couldn't have asked for a better night! Immediately after Leadership Night, the First Year Liaisons began working with First Year Class Council (FYCC) to oversee a successful Mr. Freshman pageant and the meet and greet Cookies and Queens. Next semester, the class of 2022 can look forward to the launch of theTea Talk series. Led by both Jaelan and Fana, these workshops will aim to empower the class of 2022 with life skills such as professional development and financial planning. The Co-First Year Liaisons will also continue to work with FYCC to plan First-year week and the step show.
This has been an awesome semester for Laura as Secretary of Enrollment Management! The Induction Ceremony was wonderful and the Class of 2022 is so talented. For the last few month she have been working on the winter recruitment program, Take Spelman Home for the Holidays. BIG shoutout to the Office of Admissions and Spelman Students ambassadors. They have over 50 participants. Laura cannot wait to see what next semester brings!
As the Co-Directors of Leadership and Civic Engagement, Kristen and Nia had a very busy semester preparing for the year’s midterm election. After a very successful First-Year Voter Registration Drive where they were able to begin the registration process for over 200 Spelmanites, they were able to follow this initiative with a Civic Engagement Week with Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote Initiative featuring Angela Rye and Janelle Monaé serving as the culminating event. An additional 200+ students registered during this week and they were fortunate to partner with so many other active organizations on campus including Spelman’s Chapter of the NAACP, Young Democrats of America, and the Social Justice Program in these efforts. Providing a Voter Help Desk Table on the day of elections as well as actively aiding in the programing portion of the Election Night Watch Party served to wrap up the semester. They hope to make one last effort to encourage students to vote in the upcoming runoff election and aim to continue these political engagement efforts throughout our campus and into the community this upcoming semester!
77th at Voter Registration Drive, August 2018
For the most anticipated Friday of the semester, the mission was to #MakeMarketLitAgain this fall with the amazing leadership of Kendra Brown, Market Friday Director. With the help of PR Co-Directors Jasmine and Rhyan, promo was talked about all around campus when they quoted Drake's Scorpion Album description to get students hyped for the first Market of the semester:
MARKET IS ALWAYS DEAD
MARKET DOESN'T GET LIT UNTIL 4
MARKET WAS BETTER FRESHMAN YEAR
MARKET IS JUST STROLLING
MARKET HAS THE SAME VENDORS EVERY WEEK
MARKET IS ONLY GOOD FOR HOMECOMING AND REVEALS
EVERY MARKET IS THE SAME
ANY OTHER AUC EVENT > MARKET ...
YEAH, YEAH WE KNOW
-77TH
Kendra tackled the task and the weekend kickoff featured women DJ's for the first time ever, new vendors, and themed Markets such as PINK Friday in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Christmas Market which was the final market of the semester that filled the entire Lower Manley with holiday cheer. What's cookin' for spring semester, Kendra? There's so much in store!
For the 2018-2019 academic year, Cynthia is able to serve her last year on Spelman SGA as the Elections Commissioner. While the role is not as intensive as others, she was still able to successful carry out both First Year & Special elections in August. Following that, she was able to launch the SGA internship program, which introduced 44 girls to the dynamics of our administration. Cynthia look forward to continuing on with my work in the upcoming semester!"
During the fall semester, LaKayla led an initiative, “Write the Fight,” which allowed Spelman students to write heartfelt cards to breast cancer patients and survivors in support of their fight. Also, LaKayla created a PINKTOBER T-shirt on behalf of SGA. Did you get one?
Additionally, LaKayla partnered with Kendra Brown, our wonderful Market Friday director, for an
event, “Pink Friday.” Lastly, LaKayla began laying the groundwork for a new SGA scholarship. How exciting! Stay tuned for the 2019 spring semester. LaKayla’s coming even stronger.
This summer Taylor, our Director of Special Populations, was able to work with our incoming transfer students to guide and improve their experience. Their feedback was crucial for our future improvements of NSO. She was also invited to attend the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students yearly conference in February to learn about best practices for the intake of special populations. Last month, they had an engaging partnership with the Gordon-Zeto Center for Education for International Education Week. There, Taylor was able to get valuable feedback from our international students that will inform my proposal process for next semester, including the possible elimination of language requirement for bi and trilingual students. Based on all of this research, she is looking forward to a proposal heavy second semester!
This fall semester Alexis, as our Secretary of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness, constructed 7 surverys: Housing, Dining, Title IX, Safety, Academics, Finances, and Market Friday, in an effort to bring about radical change and progression to the Spelman College campus through partnership with the members of the Student Government Association!
Jasmine and Rhyan took to social media to begin presidential and vice-presidential addresses for the student body for Bria and Leah to encourage and engage with students.
They also began #MotivationalMondays where they dropped inspirational quotes on the SGA social media to help students remain determined throughout the week.
As the Deputy Chief of Staff, April has been consistent with a weekly email that includes the week of events, reminders, and more. Not only is this email sent out to the board, but the interns also have a personalized week of events email. In addition to this, she has maintained organization and structure for the board through the SGA Google Drive, the SGA calendar, and the SGA email account. In the beginning of November, she also had the opportunity to work with the Elections Commissioner to plan a fun and engaging night for SGA and the interns! Lastly, April was able to work alongside the Director of Special Populations to create a proposal to present to the senior team regarding the possibility of bringing Sleep Pods for commuter students on campus.
Pheonix's position is very internally focused on SGA, but she set a goal this semester to help the whole student body. This goal was to establish an electronic, easily accessible calendar with all of the campus events so that students could be better aware of available opportunities. Now, you can find a calendar of all campus events on our new Elucian app! Pheonix also made herself available to all SGA members to ensure that they were supported in carrying out initiatives and events throughout the semester.
Devin, as our Secretary of Spelman Technology Services, was able to lay the groundwork for this new position and begin letting the campus know that they now have a student liaison to Spelman Technology Services. She has been receiving questions, comments, and concerns all semester so she is glad that students know that they are being heard! With the help of her fabulous interns, she was able to assist Spelman Technology Services with the Ascending Celebration in September, which was an event to showcase new technology and hear feedback from students, faculty, and staff about technology at Spelman. In addition, they are continuously working to update the technology on campus, starting with the televisions in Upper Manley and the cafeteria that do not get much use by students. Next semester, keep an eye out for updates from Devin and Spelman Technology Services about the new technology that will be coming to Spelman!
This semester, Kennedi held Alcohol Awareness Week, the highlight of the week was the event “Happy Hour with SGA”. Students enjoyed Mint Mojitos mocktails and refreshment along with a guided discussion regarding alcohol on college campuses not only at Spelman College but nationally. Spelman SGA partnered with S.H.A.P.E. as they hosted their annual HIV test party, our theme was HIV the a global scale. Students participated in trivia game for the chance to win SGA swag. The Alumnae Excursion was a success as students and alumnae attended the Harlem Dance Theater performance along with Spelman Glee club.
Nia Page has had an enjoyable and informative semester on SSGA. Through meetings with student organizations, Provost Davies, and the office of career planning, Nia has gained a lot of insight and looks forward to implying them to next semester. Nia also planned the Headshot Fair that happened earlier this semester which was in partnership with the Office of Career Planning; she looks forward to doing the event again next semester along with other programs.
As Secretary of Students Affairs this semester, Jaliyah has been able to be a part of a diverse dining committee to discus food inequities, instability, and injustice on Spelman’s campus. She has also been able to work on the interior decor of My Sister’s Closet and partner with alumnae affairs to get more clothes donated to the closet. My Sister’s Closet is geared towards providing students in need of clothing with business professional and casual clothing. Lastly, Jaliyah was able to create and disperse a housing survey and a dining survey that received transparent responses from a number of concerned students.
Mikalia, as our Secretary of Business and Finance, created a bi-monthly SGA budget report for board members. She also has served on the Bookstore Advisory Council, secured partnerships with Morehouse MBA to participate in the Christmas Party, held SAFAC Meetings, awarded scholarships with the help of the Scholarship Committee, and have created an end of semester budget report for the student body!
SGA Director of Compliance became familiar with the Title IX office, Dean of Students office, and Public Safety office. She helped to participate as a facilitator in the second Public Safety conversation (a new initiative by the Public Safety office in partnership with Atlanta Police Department). She was also able to coordinate a Title IX training session with SGA and SGA interns. In the Spring term, she hopes to continue to coordinate more Title IX training sessions and share them to the student body, facilitate more conversations with Public Safety, continue to be a student advocate through safety and compliance committees and sponsor new events that engage the Spelman community.
Last semester, we started our journey as Public Relations Co-Directors and placed their focus on creating a stronger social presence, starting with our Instagram and Twitter revamp. We also focused on documenting all SGA events through photos and video content. As Public Relations Co-Directors, we are so excited to introduce this website as another way to connect with you all! This upcoming semester, we hope to continue to bridge the gap between our administration and the general student body.
This academic year has been more than fulfilling for the 77th administration, and we look forward to capturing even more moments this upcoming semester!
Creatively,
Jasmine R. McCaskill & Rhyan T. Lewis
SGA Public Relations Co-Directors
Special thanks to our advisor Ms. Aisha Hitson
and the entire Student Life & Engagement Office.
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