SGA initiative gives students a voice, enacts change

PVCC has no cheerleaders, no football team and no school colors, and this can affect student involvement in the improvement and development of the school. PVCC’s Student Government Association, however, led by President Kate Cude, has figured out a way to change that, providing students with a voice that cannot be ignored.

The Student Voice Project, a new initiative Cude created last summer, teams up with the mandatory single-credit Student Development classes (SDVs), and presents students with the challenge of enacting lasting changes on campus by making PVCC a better place for incoming students year after year.

“Last year, I served on SGA for the whole year,” said Cude. “I felt like we didn’t do our job for the students. I didn’t feel we were getting our ideas from the students, and I didn’t feel like we were carrying through with the ideas that [the SGA] came up with… I really needed to run.”

Cude has wasted no time since she was elected to office last spring.  Her Student Voice Project was approved for a pilot run over the summer, and has already proved that, when approached the right way and received through the right channels, good ideas can result in tangible change. That change came in the form of a new parking lot configuration that allows for more motorcycle and scooter parking.

Parking at PVCC is a perpetual problem for students and faculty alike, and solutions are often daunting and attached to an extraordinary price tag.  The Student Voice template, however, encourages students to approach the problems they’ve identified in a logical and cost effective method.  The new parking lot configuration, in fact, was completed by moving the concrete car-barriers to the opposite side of the lane, painting over the old lines, then repainting the new lines. This leaves room for a new motorcycle parking area and another six parking spaces.

“It’s just more convenient,” said Vespa driving PVCC student Justin Mongoso. “There’s much more room.”

“It didn’t cost much to move around some barriers and get the paint,” said Jan Reed, director of PVCC’s SDV program. “It doesn’t always have to be about the dollar.”  And, while the estimated budget of the project must be calculated, the long-term maintenance of each project also needs to be addressed.  Each student group must submit a written report and provide a presentation to the SGA. The projects, if accepted, are then put into motion, and the maintenance is delegated to a specific club, group or department.

A few Student Voice Project ideas that are being considered currently include the addition of extra power outlets in classrooms, a PVCC smart-phone application, a ‘tab’ on the PVCC homepage dedicated to new students, as well as a map of campus to be distributed to all incoming PVCC students.

While the Student Voice Project is directed toward new students,  “In the future,” said Cude, “I want [students] to feel comfortable approaching their representative about something.” And she is offering much more than a suggestion box. To learn more about the Student Voice Project, or to submit an idea, please visit pvccsga.weebly.com or contact Kate Cude at kac2579@email.vccs.edu.