WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., May 13, 2015 — As the 2014 – 2015 school year drew to a close, West Liberty University’s Student Government Association welcomed a new president and vice president.
Allyson Ashworth, Hamlin, W.Va., will serve as president of SGA. Megan Bobes, Elkins, W.Va., will become the vice president. Both are rising seniors, highly involved in campus life.
The new officers were sworn in by Associate Dean of Student Services Marcella Snyder at the Spring Honors Convocation, held on April 30 in Kelly Theatre. Snyder acts as permanent advisor to SGA.
Ashworth and Bobes have been involved in SGA for several years, serving as senators and working on events like Homecoming, holiday events and Spring Fling. They are looking forward to the opportunity to serve the student body and the possibility of attracting more student involvement.
“In my new role, one of my biggest goals is to bridge the gap between administration and students. We want to get more feedback from the student body and share it appropriately,” Ashworth said. She is an English literature major and law school hopeful.
She also mentioned that SGA still needs students to serve in some senate seats so they are actively looking for leaders to come forward and join them in their work.
“Our biggest project will involve having a lot of close contact with clubs and groups on campus. We want to redo the structure of the student senate. Currently it has 21 senators. We want to study it further and come up with new ideas for structure that better serve our students today,” she added.
Her vice president agrees with her and stated:
“Right now we have a lot of student senators but other roles aren’t being filled. We hope to change the senate structure to meet today’s campus needs. We would like to have a graduate student seat and a student activities member for example. We need to really work with the correct people to advance our work,” explained Bobes. “We really want to build maximum communications with all West Liberty students.”
Ashworth also is serving on the Presidential Search Committee currently working toward selecting the next University president to lead WLU. Thus, she’ll be involved throughout the summer in reviewing resumes and meeting as an official body in the role of screening the applicants.
“I am honored to serve on this important committee. I’m very excited to be the voice of the students and serve with Evan Newman, former SGA president, who is also on the search committee,” she said. Ashworth is the incoming student member of the Board of Governors. Newman is the outgoing member but remains on the search committee throughout its term.
“We also hope to have a workshop on student governing and Roberts Rule of Orders etc., when we get back to campus in the fall,” added Bobes, a business management major who is an entrepreneurship minor.
“We want to see a total transformation of student government this year,” agree both officers.
SGA is a student led representative body made up of members that are elected by all WLU students. Through their work with administrators, they act as bridges of communication between students and administration and develop creative programming for students.
The association governs itself on three overarching principles: service, leadership and integrity. Its office is located on the second floor of the College Union building.
For more information, please visit the SGA webpage.