SGA holds its first ever press conference

Troy University’s Student Government Association (SGA) broke new ground by holding its first ever press conference last Thursday. 

With hopes of creating more transparent and open communication with their university, Troy University’s SGA held their very first press conference last Thursday. The association invited members of Troy University’s media to the event to help give a look into what they are doing to serve their school. 

Steve Hubert photo

Kendall Ard speaks at the podium

“It is such a historic moment for the Student Government Association because this is, to my knowledge, the first time the SGA has ever done something like this,” said SGA President Caleb Smith. 

Smith said SGA wants to have a better connection between the student body and their organization by way of the media, and holding press conferences is a good way to start. He said that by holding these press conferences, it allows all of SGA’s executive officers to provide updates on their duties and opens communication between SGA and the student body.  

During the conference, each executive officer stood and did just that – they gave updates on what has been going on in their realms including what has been successful and what they look forward to and opened the room to questions.  

One thing SGA Executive Vice President Jayden McQueen touched on was the organization’s newly welcomed senators. She said the organization is feeling great about them. 

“Two out of four of them are freshman, and just to see that they are eager and ready to serve their student body straight out of the gate is amazing,” McQueen said.  

SGA’s newly welcomed Vice President of Campus Affairs Abby Gilliland acknowledged the success of Welcome Week and its events such as Silent Disco and Trojan Night Out.  

She also noted her committee will meet this week about planning for Homecoming and hopes to announce the theme very soon. 

“Stay up to date with that,” Gilliland said. “We cannot wait for you guys to see what we have in store.”  

Gilliland also said she loves her new position. 

“Going from senate to executive, it’s a little bit different, a little more roles that you take on such as public speaking, but it’s really great,” Gilliland said. “I’m just very happy to be here.” 

In response to a final question surrounding how SGA plans to respond to safety concerns following the campus shooting on Aug. 30, McQueen said SGA’s Safety and Infrastructure Committee is committed to serving Troy University students by partnering with Troy University Police Department (TUPD) and Dean Reeves in the Student Services Department to ensure that students know important safety resources like the Omnilert.  

She also said the chair of the Safety and Infrastructure Committee is planning to soon meet with TUPD Police Chief Beaudry to work on increasing awareness for the police department’s new Run-Hide-Fight campaign. 

Following the conference’s end, Smith said he thought it went very successfully and was able to have transparent communication with the student body like he was hoping for.  

“We had a lot of great questions and a lot of great reports given from our executive officers,” Smith said. “I really feel like this was a good starting point to the press conferences that we hope to have in the future.” 

Smith said SGA plans on continuing these press conferences periodically and hopes to add a town hall feature, in which students could attend meetings and ask SGA members questions. 

Smith invites all students to come to the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership in Trojan Center 215 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday if they have any problems, issues or questions. Students can also direct message SGA executives on social media or email the organization at sga@troy.edu. 

“We are here for the student body,” Smith said. “If that wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t be called the Student Government Association.”