The University of Maryland SGA executive board plans to prioritize transparency and increasing student voter turnout for November’s election during the 2024-25 academic year.
Student Government Association president Reese Artero and executive vice president Gannon Sprinkle won April’s election. The pair campaigned to increase student engagement and address sexual misconduct on campus, The Diamondback previously reported.
This year, one of the SGA’s most important goals is to understand and advocate for student issues, Sprinkle said.
”I just want [students] to know that the student government cares about them and that we are doing everything possible to advocate for the things they care about,” the junior government and politics major said.
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To provide more transparency to students, Artero, a senior criminal justice major, said she plans to implement a new rule that would require SGA to post any bylaw changes on its website and social media accounts for at least 10 business days.
The rule will ensure the student body can provide input on new additions, she added. Her role requires her to not only be the SGA spokesperson, but to advocate for the student body, she said.
”Not a lot of students get to be in the spaces that I get to be in, in terms of representing student interests,” Artero said.
Artero also stressed the importance of SGA’s anonymous student concerns form, which allows the body to gather student feedback.
The changes are part of an increased emphasis on the SGA’s social media outreach program, Artero said.
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The SGA also hopes to boost student turnout in the 2024 elections.
“I think the election is a huge point of focus for everyone,” Shivani Sidh, SGA’s governmental affairs director, said. “So I would say that is something that’s a priority for me and for the SGA as a whole.”
Sidh, a junior public policy and international relations major, highlighted registration drives’ importance.
Sprinkle suggested that a civic engagement competition between student organizations could help promote student voter registration.
The SGA plans to set up QR codes through Turbo Vote to track student registration throughout organizations. The competition can be “healthy and fun” for student groups, Sprinkle said.
The SGA will also partner with TerpsVote — a student-led organization that promotes civic engagement — to encourage students to register to vote at football games.
Artero hopes the new initiatives will be part of a broader effort to better involve the university community with SGA’s decision-making process.
“I think that being a representative in those spaces isn’t just being the loudest person in the room, and it’s not just putting forth the most bills,” Artero said. “It’s actively understanding what your community wants and how you can help them get there.”
