SGA forum addresses mental health, diversity

The Student Government Association (SGA) hosted its first annual Fall Forum, a platform for students to openly ask questions, view presentations and provide feedback to the SGA for its work, on Tuesday in Mudd Hall. The main discussions items on the agenda were mental health and diversity and inclusion, which the SGA has outlined as two of its three key focus areas for this academic year.

The third key focus area of school spirit was initially planned to be discussed. However, the event organizer and moderator, sophomore senator AJ Tsang, decided that it would be more effective to have an increased allotted amount of time to focus a fewer number of topics.

The forum began with SGA members in each committee giving a brief presentation about the legislation they had been working on and their future plans to improve student life in those respective areas. The SGA then initiated discussion by answering questions posed by the audience and questions that were submitted anonymously through text message before the start of the forum.

Although a large auditorium was reserved for the event in anticipation of a strong turn out, fewer than five students showed up and stayed for the entire event.

Junior Emeline Armitage, one of the students who participated in the forum, expressed frustration with the low student turnout, but that she was also satisfied with the forum’s efficiency.

“The people who were there were able to speak more fully and to get every single question that was asked answered, which is awesome, but unfortunately that was because of poor attendance,” she said.

As an open platform, students were able to voice their concerns directly to the SGA. Senior Gracie Hargrove spoke out against some of the SGA’s initiatives for lacking in diversity and inclusion.

“I think [it’s important to] move towards more inclusive language, just with everything that’s going on,” Hargrove said. “If SGA could make sure that diversity and inclusion are a part of everything [they] do so no one ever feels unwelcome or left out, whether it’s in the dining hall or in the Rec Center.”

Citing the “Women in the Weight Room” event and the Hygiene Necessity Act, Hargrove urged SGA to consider a way to be more aware of diverse representation for students in all of their initiatives.

“I just want to say that it’s hygiene products, not feminine hygiene products,” Hargrove said. “For ‘Women in the Weight Room,’ how are queer and transgender students going to be represented in that? For the most part, we don’t really think about non-binary people that don’t identify with women or with men, and are in that gray area. Is there going to be additional programming for them to make them feel comfortable?”

SGA Executive President Charlie Green noted Hargrove’s concerns.

“I think that’s great feedback,” Green said. “I can definitely talk to the athletic director regarding [Women in the Weight Room] specifically. I think there definitely should be programming for [non-binary people].”

Armitage noted that at certain points in the mental health discussion, SGA members seemed to be dodging questions or did not give straightforward answers.

“One of the SGA members was talking about how it takes one and a half weeks to schedule an appointment [with the Counseling Center],” she said. “People from the audience were talking about how, in their personal experience, it either takes more time than that, or that it takes more time to get a certain counselor with a certain focus issue, and that question was brushed aside.”

This year’s Fall Forum was the first of its kind. According to Junior Class President Sarah Zappone, in previous years, SGA forums typically took place in response to student-body emergencies.

Tsang agreed with this assessment, and said that he hopes this type of sustained, intimate dialogue between the SGA and the student body will become typical for how SGA operates in the future.

“I’m really hoping that these kinds of forums and dialogue and conversation really become the norm, because they should be the norm,” he said. “Because this amazing kind of conversation, where everyone can speak and everyone can put their opinion out there, no matter what it is, is really key to making sure we mobilize our students towards making change in our school.”

A freshman from the Peabody Conservatory Claire Iverson found the forum to be an effective way to get updated on SGA’s recent legislation efforts and meet the SGA representatives.

“I’m a student at Peabody, so I’m not always up-to-date with what’s happening here, and getting to attend this was very helpful — to be able to see what is going on and how SGA is moving forward,” Iverson said.