The Student Government Association’s (SGA) new president Benjamin Eber ‘23 is optimistic about what this school year holds. Elected in May 2022, Eber has created an outline of what he would like to accomplish during his time as student body president, including ways to get students more involved in the college community.
“Expect a plethora of events promoting the many ways students can become involved in changing our campus through SGA.”
Benjamin Eber ’23
One of SGA’s first goals is to provide free menstrual products for students. Eber explains, “Right now, we are in our test trial phase with our Flo-free pad and tampon dispensers in Seegers Union bathrooms, with the hopes of continuing to grow. Academic buildings are the next step.” While there are menstrual product dispensers in other bathrooms across campus, each item has a cost making them not entirely accessible to all students. Additionally, most of those machines are currently empty.
“I hope the test trial goes well and this will be implemented in full super soon,” said Britney Bonhomme ‘24. “I know that Seegers Union bathrooms get the most traffic on campus so this is perfect thinking. I can’t wait to see where this goes.”
Continuing the theme of accessibility, SGA has plans to make all buildings across campus more accessible through the installation of ramps or elevators. “A variety of buildings and pathways on this campus are not accessible to many,” said Eber. “We plan to check accessible doors to ensure they are working, note buildings without proper elevators, and investigate what stages have ramps and other accessibility paths. These findings will then be reported to Plant Operations and senior staff to find solutions where needed.”
For those who have cars, it’s no secret that the parking situation on campus can be frustrating. Eber wants to help alleviate this problem and make parking more accessible and convenient for all. “Many students have voiced their annoyance in having to park their car across campus from where they live,” Eber shared. “I want to talk with the administration and see how parking is delegated and see if there is a reasonable solution.”
Cydney Wilson ‘23 shared, “Parking on campus is extremely frustrating, and students are frequently ticketed. Ticketing financially benefits the College, while harming students, and rather than continuing to profit off of us, it would be great if they tried instead to find a solution.”
Eber also showed a specific interest in the student clubs on campus, pushing for more club storage and funding. Eber reasoned, “Clubs are growing in numbers and in resources they need. As they grow and acquire equipment, we want to find a place for them to store their club’s property that isn’t just their car or dorm room, which will help prevent missing equipment as well. We are also working on funding clubs in the most ethical and reasonable way, as this year has the potential to be our fullest year yet when it comes to club-hosted events.”
Serena Albahary ’24 shared, “This way things are all in one spot and easy to find. As co-president of the intramural volleyball club, it would be beneficial to have somewhere to store the equipment speakers when we purchase them.”
“[The new spaces] could be really beneficial to have designated places to store equipment.”
Serena Albahary ’24
Eber also has plans to work closely with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee to hold campus-wide DEI chair meetings, dinners and much more. “We’re having our General Assembly DEI training this week, as we welcome our new representatives,” Eber said. SGA recently held a special election that introduced many first-year members to the association.
As always, laundry was brought into the conversation in terms of its affordability for students. With the price of $1.50 per load of laundry, the total cost adds up over a student’s time here at the College. “This is the age-old discussion of how do we make laundry cheaper, or is that even possible? Now, laundry will never be free, but I want to re-run the numbers and talk with our suppliers to see what the options are moving forward.” The future of laundry may look brighter for ‘Berg students and their wallets.
SGA collectively agrees that there is so much potential for the College this year. Eber has also been working on other questions, including, “How can we get more gender-neutral bathrooms in dorms and around campus? Should we extend Java Joe’s hours? Do the commuter lockers need to be redone?” Eber has a positive outlook for the upcoming 2022-23 academic year and a well-thought-out list of improvements that could be made.
“There is much more work to be done, and SGA wants to keep up with student movements and concerns. I want it to be known that SGA is a resource, and we are going to remind the campus community of this until every single person knows,” said Eber. “We look forward to a great semester!”
