Student Government Association (SGA)
The Student Government Association, or SGA, is a body of peer-elected students that works with Trinity students, faculty, and community members in order to advocate for student needs. The SGA also works with the Office of Student Activities, Involvement, and Leadership (S.A.I.L.) in order to go through the formal process of officially approving extracurricular clubs on campus.
The first student government, called the Senate, was organized in the Spring of 1909 with Paul Roberts, Class of 1910, elected as President. Membership included one member of the senior class, one member of the junior class, the president of the Athletic Association, the editor of the Trinity Tripod, the managers of the football, track, and baseball teams, one member from each fraternity, and one member of Medusa (if those organizations were not already represented). The first female President of SGA was elected in 1977.
The SGA functions like a real government and has a student-written and approved Constitution from which it derives its powers. The SGA is made up of different boards, committees, a Senate, and an Executive Board which includes a President. These positions are voted on by the student body, and any student can become a candidate. Elections are held at the start of the fall semester, and ballots are circulated or electronically distributed. In order to have been on the ballot, a candidate must have collected a number of signatures from peers.
SGA has received criticism for not representing the student body completely. In 1994, a group called the Student Sovereign Affairs Council circulated a petition that attempted to challenge SGA's power. Though it ultimately failed, this “uprising” resulted in extensive dialogue between SGA and its critics at the time.
Sources
Student Government Association
Student Government Association (Bantam Link)
The Trinity Reporter, Winter 2019.
The Trinity Tripod, 03/08/1994.
The Trinity Tripod, 04/29/1975.
The History of Trinity College (1967) by Glenn Weaver, p. 269.
The Trinity Tripod, 03/30/1909.