By Lauren Beeman

At the informal Student Government Association meeting Tuesday night, Co-President Mary Argana instructed the Senate on how to formally propose changes to the student constitution along with presenting pieces of legislation for approval.

“This is where your voice comes in,” Argana said.

Agenda items were postponed until next week’s meeting as the formal instructions took precedent.

The Senate also learned formal meeting procedures, sayings, and actions. Argana used examples from other universities to demonstrate how the new administration will conduct formal meetings.

The handouts provided “basic structure” on how to conduct formal proceedings.

A main goal of this administration is to improve student retention. SGA intends to focus its efforts on improving campus life so students are more inclined to stay.

Argana suggested class-specific retreats to improve peer-understanding and relationships. Her hope is that students who feel valued and included will be more inclined to stay.

Freshman Senator Suzanne Schmitz offered another idea to improve student experience. Schmitz introduced an initiate to revive the theater program at QU and believes providing students with artistic outlets is another way to improve retention.

“I think it would help the school so much in terms of just admissions putting a little bit more into the arts and a little bit more into theater…I think we can do so much more. We have so much talent here,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz plans to meet with university President Phil Conover to further push the initiative and believes SGA needs to build up a sense of school pride among the campus community.

As for old agenda items, Co-President Abigail Moore finalized plans to move forward with purchasing apparel for SGA and encouraged senators to continue to brainstorm ways for the governing body to raise money.

The next open Student Government Meeting will be Monday April 16, 2018 at 7 p.m.