The Need for a Graduate Student Representative on the SMUSA Board
By Neema Mazonge
@neemamazonge
Over my four years at Saint Mary’s University, SMUSA has provided and catered to the Saint Mary’s student’s community in many ways; from the Husky Patrol daily between 6-12am to hot coffee and snacks during exam season. I applaud the SMUSA team for the hard work they put into creating a comfortable environment always. However, I always find myself asking: could SMUSA provide more services throughout the school terms?
As many students may know, SMUSA has a leadership team that provides services, support, advocacy and representation to all students of Saint Mary’s University and provides assistance in overcoming any challenges they may face, this leadership team consists of different representatives such as the vice president student affairs, vice president equity and wellness and other positions.
A concern raised as I spoke to students is the absence of a graduate representative on the SMUSA board. There is a vice president of student affairs currently, however graduate students have expressed feeling like this position mainly caters to undergraduate students. One student, who prefers to remain anonymous, expressed her efforts to advocate for a graduate student representative, however, her efforts have not yet borne any results. Graduate students feel left out of the majority of events that occur throughout the semesters. A graduate student representative on the SMUSA board could also help merge the gap between the undergraduate students and graduate students allowing the graduate students to become more involved in campus life. These are some issues that could be raised during the SMUSA elections coming up this year, a hands-on election with students could help provide better representation and solve these concerns.