Claire King ~ Vice President of Internal Affairs and President-Elect
Photo of SGA Board at the election open forum featuring Matthew Gillet, Ariel Lineberry, and Amelia Simmons on April 18, 2022 taken by Claire King
While navigating through the challenges of leading during a pandemic, the Student Government Association Senate of 2021-2022 has succeeded in serving our community in a multitude of ways. This group represents all voices on campus, and has demonstrated their continuous commitment to making decisions that uplift the student body.
So far, the Senate has upheld inclusivity and respect by approving Lynchburg’s first NAACP Chapter, assisting in the name change process of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, and approving the Inclusive Excellence and Anti-bullying Amendments to the Student Government Association Constitution.
The Senate has also emphasized its care for our environment and community by approving the Lynchburg Environmental Sustainability Society and conducting an incredibly successful Hurricane Relief Drive to help those who were negatively impacted by hurricane Ida.
Moreover, the Senate has supported and attended events by speaker Brenda Tracey to step up against sexual assault and physical violence and senators signed the Set The Expectation Community Pledge to protect our friends, organization, and greater community from sexual assault.
Picture of the 2020 Link Leader orientation team, Received from Hannah Orndorff.
Hannah Orndorff ~ Senator for Transfers
What is a transfer student?
They are someone who has earned credits for study at one school or institution but, for their own reasons, wants to go to a different institution and bring over the credits she or he has earned.
In recent years, the University has welcomed increasing numbers of transfer students not just in the fall semester but also the spring. Whether they are coming from four year institutions, junior colleges, or community colleges, each transfer has a different journey to not just get here but also in their time spent at the University.
The Knight Carpon Library at the University of Lynchburg. Photo by Maya Patterson.
I have worked as a student employee for the University of Lynchburg since my freshman year. I have worked in the Knight-Capron Library since January 2019.
Much of my responsibilities included cleaning and shelving books. I thought it was a bit strange that the books needed to be cleaned, however, given the age of some of the books it is understandable.
Being a Class Senator has been the highlight of my time at the University of Lynchburg so far. It all started when I was invited to the Leadership Dinner and talked with the VP at the time, and all the sudden I was hooked.
I was not quite sure what I wanted to do with being a senator as a first year student, I did not know the school much at that point, all I knew was that I wanted to be the voice for people that were too afraid to speak up.
I knew classmates in my dorm who wanted to see change but did not know who to go to or what to do, and I was proud to be able to be that outlet for them.
Being a class senator seems like a big task, and while it might be difficult at times, it has been a rewarding experience.
I like how I can do a lot of different activities and propose a lot of different ideas to the senate, that most people might not be able to do. For example, as a Third Year senator I was able to propose ideas that contribute to inclusive excellence and diversity on campus, along with help write legislation for new activities including leisure and mental health.
With my three years of being in the Senate, I have also had the opportunity to be a part of voting for change at the university, from new clubs to seeing the beautiful rainbow chairs becoming a reality on Westover Hall.
I am so proud of everything that the Senate has done so far and I am so excited for the campus to see everything that we have planned for the remainder of the academic year. I have loved every minute of having a seat in the Senate, so if you are even thinking about joining, my vote is yes!
After the selection of a new board at the end of the fall semester, the Westover Executive Board discussed in our first meeting of the spring semester revisions and updates to our goals and mission for the coming year. In the spring of 2021, the revision introduced the goal of reinforcing our connection with other organizations on campus, wherein we focused on collaborating with those organizations for events and programs.
This goal has continued into this spring, but the program has added a new set of focuses, the next level for Westover: the hope to highlight Westover as a social program as well as an academic one and (partially within this first goal) to connect Westover upperclassmen with underclassmen.
Westovers are incredibly involved on campus and often leaves little time for them to casually connect with other Westovers.
Image of Inside of Commuter Student Center located on the corner of Vernon Street and college drive. Taken by Alyssa Mendoza 2019.
O’Shea Nowlin ~ Guest Writer
Hello, Commuter Students! We are the Commuter Student Association (a.k.a. CSA) here at University of Lynchburg! One of our main goals here on campus is to serve all of you by listening to any concerns you guys may have as commuters, and there are a few ways you can get in contact with us to voice your concerns.
We have an office in Pete’s Place on the bottom floor of Drysdale and it is the first office you will see — we have painted CSA on our office window and the names of our executive board members are on our door. Secondly, you can email any of our executive board members with comments. Thirdly, we try to host frequent student meetings during the semester, so that you guys can meet with us in person and discuss any issues or concerns. Our last student meeting of this semester is Nov. 21 at 5 :00 p.m. in the Commuter Lounge on the corner of Vernon St., and it is also our Friendsgiving Potluck!
Another one of our goals is to provide fun events for every student, even if you are not a commuter! In the past, we have done at least one event a month. Last month we had our Make S’more Friends event where we had FREE s’mores and talked with students, and in September we hosted Queso and Questions in the Commuter Lounge where we introduced commuters to our brand new Commuter Lounge!
This month, we are hosting three events, two of which will be in the Commuter Lounge. On Nov. 13, CSA will be doing a fundraiser at the Chipotle on Lakeside Dr. from 5:00- 9:00 p.m., so come support CSA and have that delicious burrito or bowl you have been craving! On Nov. 21, we will host the Friendsgiving Potluck in the lounge, which is our last student meeting, so come on out with your friends and eat good food! Lastly, on Nov. 22, we will host Pajama Partea from 7:00- 9:00 p.m. in the lounge where we will have a variety of hot tea to warm you up during the cold weather and some fun crafts! Next month, we will have our very last event of the semester which is Coloring and Cocoa in the lounge, also from 7:00- 9:00 p.m., where you can destress with some delicious hot chocolate and art right before exams start! Don’t forget to mark these events down in your calendar!
Next semester we are planning some more exciting events, so if you have any suggestions please let us know! As of right now, we have BYOB (Be Your Own Bae) on Valentine’s Day to promote self-love and happiness. In March, we plan to have a game night where we will have our own card and board games, so be sure to bring your friends to this event. Lastly, we plan to have CSA’s very first cook out in April!
Here are some helpful tips for you guys being commuter students:
Leave at least 5 to 10 minutes earlier than you think you may need to to account for traffic.
If you do not pack your own lunch, the University offers the Hornet Plan for commuters. More information can be found by searching on the University’s website.
Get a Sheetz card! Signing up is free and it always saves you 3 cents per gallon.
Use the new Commuter Lounge! It is quiet and a great place to study or get work done. It’s open from 6:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m. every day.
Students can park anywhere designated with WHITE lines. YELLOW lines are reserved for faculty and staff.
Rachel Parent ~ Student Government Association Senator for Peaksview Hall
For some of the on-campus University of Lynchburg’s students, living on Southside is a rite of passage. From living inside either Tate or Montgomery Hall, to moving up towards the residence halls located across from Shellenberger Field, or even the Jack and Jill style Hundley Hall, they are all stepping stones to the lovely Southside locations. As the representative for Peaksview, I would like to speak on behalf of its residents that this is a wonderful place to call home. With the private kitchen and bathrooms, to the open common room, it has so much to offer.
Transfer Students make up a small portion of the total student population, but they have a big impact on the university’s academics. Transfers tend to have a higher GPA than traditional undergraduate students nationwide. Even though transfer students are a minority here at the University of Lynchburg, they are an important population and should not be as underrepresented and forgotten as they are. There are many problems that transfers face at universities across the nation as well as problems specific to this university. While there are some fantastic initiatives and groups of faculty and staff that are working hard to make this a transfer-friendly campus, we have a few systematic issues that should be addressed.
Here at the University of Lynchburg, we are granted with many excellent opportunities. We are lucky to have some of the finest faculty and staff in the country. We are also lucky to have some of the greatest students in the country. It is you as hornets who make our school what it is! The University of Lynchburg Student Government Association is proud to represent your voices as hornets and we look forward to continuing to serve you!
However, the Student Government Association is not looking for the University of Lynchburg to remain stagnant. Our institution can only remain excellent if everyone works together to make it the best it can be. Currently the Student Government Association is looking for ways to help you be informed, but more importantly, to get feedback from you. We have many new and exciting initiatives taking place this year.
Greetings fellow Hornets! My name is Sam Sacavage, and I am a representative of Hundley Hall on the Student Government Association Student Senate. I also serve as the Programming Coordinator for the Second Year Success Committee.
On Wednesday, September 11th, Darian Geddis, the Vice President of External Affairs for SGA, and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bob Driskill, the Head of Security, to discuss the issue regarding the parking allocation for the students that are just now moving from the Annex into the new residence hall. In the wake of students moving into the new residence hall, SGA was made aware of possible parking issues that will result from those students moving back on campus, as there are currently not enough spaces behind the new residence hall to facilitate all the students moving back.
