By Shea Stine

**UPDATE:

SGA President Bryce Moore announced his resignation at the first meeting of the semester, which was held January 24. Moore has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will be leaving to serve in Morocco following his graduation this spring.

“I’ve enjoyed my time working in student government, but I am on the journey of accomplishing my long term goals, so it is time for me to focus on those,” he said.

Vice President Lauren Beeman was named acting president following Moore’s resignation. Moore said that he is not fully stepping away; he will help as a consultant when his schedule allows.

“It’s a bittersweet moment because I loved working with Bryce and learning from him, and while it’s unfortunate to lose him, he’s going to do great things for the Peace Corps,” Beeman said. “I hope I can continue what he started last semester. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Following Moore’s resignation, Beeman and the rest of the executive team presented their organizational restructuring plan, which was unanimously approved by the senate.

If the plan stays on schedule, SGA will have all its nominations for senate, vice president and president by March 1. Elections will be held the week of March 20. Classes will vote for their own senate positions, and the entire student body will vote for president and vice president.

Beeman said they are leaning toward having three senate members per class.

Dean of Students and Academic Success Christine Tracy led off the meeting. Tracy committed to making sure that SGA becomes the student voice and a governing body. Tracy said one of her main focuses will be preserving the student experience amidst the budget crisis. Tracy is also preparing a Google calendar that will be sent out campus-wide that includes both the academic calendar and campus events.

In addition, Tracy announced that there will be an on-campus concert the weekend of May 6 in conjunction with Hawk Wild festivities.

The next SGA meeting will be held Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. in Francis Hall room 334.

____________________________________________________

The Quincy University Student Government Association will be announcing a restructuring  at its first meeting of the semester, which will be held tonight at 9 p.m. in Francis Hall room 334. SGA Vice President Lauren Beeman said that the restructuring will be centered around changing the representation of students.

Beeman said that SGA hopes to get rid of club representatives and instead have two to three elected officials from each class of students, who will be paid for their service. In addition, there will be volunteer senate members, who will not be paid but Beeman said will be required to meet certain stipulations.

Beeman also said that SGA has experienced a shakeup in its leadership. While Fr. John Doctor will remain an advisor, Christine Tracy will replace Soumitra Ghosh, who was previously a university advisor with Doctor.

The SGA is the self-governing representative body of all Quincy University students. Students are elected by their peers to serve on SGA and make decisions about funding to clubs and organizations on campus. Clubs and organizations come to SGA for further funding if needed. SGA members rule on everything from the Campus Activities Board (CAB) to Haiti Connection to Intramurals.

Meetings are open to all students. SGA members encourage students to attend meetings to be informed on what is happening and be involved in decisions that will affect their day-to-day lives at the university.

Bryce Moore is the president of SGA. Moore was elected president last year. Beeman serves as vice president, Jordan Ogle serves as secretary and Alex Tredow serves as vice president of the treasury. Annie Arment serves as vice president of marketing.

Meetings are held every other Tuesday in FRH 334. The schedule is subject to change, and updates can be found on the SGA Facebook and Twitter pages. QU Media will be covering SGA all semester, and the latest SGA news can be found on qumedia.net.

*Moore and Beeman are contributing members to QU Media.