SGA hosts guest speaker, appoints new senator and approves funding

SEMO’s Student Government Association (SGA) held its first meeting of the month on Feb. 3.

This meeting kicked off with a visit from Paul Sharpe, the newly appointed dean of Kent Library, who served as the guest speaker.

Sharpe opened his speech by addressing his priorities in his new role at SEMO.

“I’m here to invite you all back to the library,” Sharpe said. “I’d like to make sure that our students find the library and find it to be an inviting place.”

Paul Sharpe continued his speech by opening the floor to student questions and creating a conversation about Kent Library. He touched on the library's available resources, including its many databases and materials accessible to students.

Following Sharpe’s speech, the meeting moved on to appoint a new Senator.

Double major in business administration and music Jenna Brock applied to fill the position of Senator for the Harrison College of Business and Computing.

Brock shared her interest in SGA, explaining involvement with SEMO is very important in her academic career,

“I don’t want to be passive in my education. I would like to be able to connect with my peers... and find any way I can to be involved with the school,” Brock said.

Unanimously, SGA voted to appoint Brock as Senator for the Harrison College of Business and Computing.

The final resolution for this meeting included a proposal to SGA’s funding board.

Freshman in music education major David White approached the funding board as a representative of the National Association for Music Education (NAME-C).

White sought $1,018.35 to cover hotel expenses for the Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) Conference, held in Lake of the Ozarks, MO, from January 29 to Feb. 1, 2025.

David emphasized how MMEA benefits music education students.

“I, as well as my attendees, got to network with other music educators and colleges...it’s great to get to see people and make connections with them because networking is the biggest thing when it comes to music education."

The funding board accepted the proposal to cover hotel expenses and approved the resolution, marking the final agenda item for the evening.

"This funding allows students to lessen the financial burden of attending MMEA,” White said.