The Student Government Association of Mercy College works very hard improvements that will better the student body. These past couple of weeks, the SGA has been meeting with upper administration to find ways to resolve student issues, as well as to get approved for positive enhancements that the student body will very much enjoy.

Many students have come to the Student Government with the concern that they are not able to participate in certain activities or clubs, because they have class during the meeting time. The Student Government thought it would be a good idea to push for a common hour.

Common Hour is a time once or twice a week that no classes are scheduled, for students to have the availability to participate in student life activities around campus, or to meet with a club that they wanted to be active in. Common Hour was once held every Tuesdays at 1 p.m., but has not been active on the Mercy schedule for a few years.

The Student Government used many marketing tools to segment the student’s thoughts on Common Hour. Notices were posted on social media for students to post their opinion of common hour, and government members went around the campus with specific surveys for students to fill out.

The surveys went into such detail asking how many times a week students would want common hour, they asked how long they would like the common hour to be, and they asked if common hour was something that the students would event want at all.

“The surveys helped a lot. We were able to receive a lot of feedback as to what information we need to know to continue to push for this initiative,” said Ray Woznick, Vice President of The Student Government Association.

The e-board has been meeting with upper administration such as student life and student affairs in order to make this ingenuity a reality to help better the student body.

As we move further into the winter season, students are concerned that if the school closes due to a snow storm, what facilities they have available to them. Many students who are residents on campus do not have a car with the ability to leave and find activities to do when there is a school closing.

Therefore, the students stuck on campus want to have some facilities open for them to use to pass the time during a snow day. Students who regularly exercise have asked if the gym in Victory Hall could be kept open for them to work out. Other students have asked if either the gym in Victory Hall, or the gym in Main Hall could be kept open for students to have open gym time.

The Student Government appreciates the students concerns and are doing everything that they could to make this probable for students during the snow days. The members of the SGA have met with the administrators around campus such as the library director, student life, student affairs, and athletics to make an arrangement and to find the necessary tools to make this happen.

Administration loves the idea, although they had a few concerns. “There must be some sort of supervision to keep the facilities open,” said Dr. Bill Martinov.

The Student Government understood Martinov’s concerns, and so some members have volunteered to supervise the facilities during a specific range of time that students would like to have available.

If any student workers for athletics would like to volunteer to supervise the facilities during school closings, please reach out to The Student Government Association to make further arrangements.

Also, the munchy truck is back! Keep an eye out for the members of the SGA driving around campus on the trolley handing out special treats, and wishing you luck on your finals.

“We know how stressful it can be for students during finals week, and so we want to ease some of the students stress by showing them that we care, and to give them a little boost of positivity,” said Woznick.

The purpose of The Student Government Association is to have a liaison relationship between the student body, and upper administration. The SGA does its best to hear what the student body has to say and then voice their concerns to the right people.

Many students have a lot to say and then want to be apart of making this school grow, and the SGA welcomes any members with this attitude. If you would like to voice your concerns or join The Student Government Association, please feel free to go to the meetings on Thursday’s at 3 p.m. in the Vitale Lab.