Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Pepperdine’s Student Government Association (SGA) provides many resources to clubs and students on campus.
They help fund several events throughout the year including, a pancake breakfast meal during finals, shuttles to LAX at the end of the semester and Winter Wonderland, Pepperdine’s tree lighting ceremony, in December.
Students can often take these events for granted by not realizing how crucial SGA is to facilitating them.
When SGA interviewed 33 students about SGA, 31 of them said “they had no idea what SGA was,” according to Resolution #01-S26.
This presents the question: To what extent do students see the results or benefits of SGA’s work, and should SGA be putting in more effort to increase their publicity rather than their typical efforts?
In many ways, students lack a knowledge of SGA’s current activities showing more SGA visibility is needed.
One of the motions SGA passed Feb. 18 was in regard to Nature’s Edge and the snacks they provide.
SGA came to the conclusion they would work with Bon Appétit to develop a list of new snacks to add to Nature’s Edge, according to Resolution #01-F25. Some of these snacks included Arizona Iced Teas and Popcorners, according to previous Graphic reporting.
In the process of developing the Nature’s Edge snack list, SGA sent a survey to see which snacks were top choices for students to be added to the inventory, according to Resolution #01-F25.
Considering many students’ don’t know what SGA is and does, it can be difficult to ascertain the accuracy of SGA’s surveys because much of the student body might not have been made aware of the surveys. This lack of awareness highlights the need for increased publicity from SGA if it hopes to better incorporate student voices into its work.
Samantha Backus, president of Days for Girls (DFG), a club advocating for global access to and education on menstrual health, said SGA has helped DFG’s restock initiative, which looks to keep menstrual products accessible throughout campus.
When asked about the Nature’s Edge snack list resolution, Backus said she was happy to hear SGA was doing something new.
Both Backus and Jackie Gomez, Inter-Club Council (ICC) Representative for DFG and Pre-Med Club finance chair, said they know of some students’ hope to see healthier snack choices in Nature’s Edge.
In Nature’s Edge, much of the food is considered “junk” food; therefore, it poses barriers to students looking for healthier foods and have limited snack options on campus.
“I know plenty of people who kind of go and they feel like most of the snacks are kind of just junk,” Gomez said.
Snacks like Arizona Iced Teas, which were included in the snack list above, are not considered healthy options due to their high sugar content, according to Healthline.
The easy access of these unhealthy snacks can make it easy for students to eat less nutritious foods. This can undermine students’ desire to have a healthy diet. Ultimately, this creates uncertainty about the precision of SGA’s snack list and questions how much their recent efforts represent the interests of the student body.
“Besides that one thing they helped us pass, I don’t really see the effects of what they do on campus,” Gomez said.
Given that many students are unaware of SGA’s role and do not see the outcomes of its efforts, increasing publicity should be the organization’s top priority.
To address the lack of publicity, SGA proposed creating a newsletter that “should include sections such as, future SGA events, updates on initiatives, and contact information for interested students” and “it is to be posted around approved places on campus, and even potentially distributed to students,” according to Resolution #01-S26.
This plan comes with some restraints, since the newsletter isn’t directly being sent to students yet and relies mainly on “interested students” instead of focusing on getting a majority of the student body involved.
Studies show increased student involvement on campus exhibited better retention rates and greater academic persistence, according to University of Houston.
Therefore, more student involvement can also benefit students beyond SGA related work by helping increase their academic effectiveness.
The unreliability of current student surveys with SGA and the lack of knowledge among some students about what SGA is poses difficulties for SGA to be fully serving all the students they represent.
SGA depends on student voices to represent the student body effectively. To improve this, SGA should focus more on publicizing its actions and initiatives.
By increasing awareness, more students will be encouraged to share their feedback. With greater input, SGA can better understand student needs, represent a wider range of perspectives, and ultimately become more effective in its work.
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Contact Alyssa Hunnicutt via email: alyssa.hunnicutt@pepperdine.edu