SGA outreach not reaching far enough

In a university setting where the sense of kinship is lacking, it’s no wonder the SGA’s primary goal is to strengthen community. However, even with an entire student government working to solve the problem, change is painstakingly slow—but change nonetheless.

“The overriding goal is community-building,” said SGA president Gordon Hamby. “In the summer we have a retreat where we get together and outline goals: personal goals, committee goals, SGA goals, and the president’s goals.”

Some efforts to reach these goals are readily apparent. This semester, the SGA made a point to contact and track 1000 freshmen.

“We found that saying, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ and giving out free pizza wasn’t enough; we’re trying to engage students,” said Hamby.

The purpose of this outreach is to get to know individuals better as well as spread the word about what the SGA does—something I at least have wondered about more than once.

Although reaching out to freshmen may seed long-term interest in the SGA, those who aren’t just starting college appear to be less of a priority. It’s an improvement from free pizza, but communication with upperclassmen still needs to be initiated if the SGA is to serve CU Denver as a whole.

The next senate meeting is from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9 in Tivoli 329, and is open to all students.