Free Copying and PrintingCurrently the SGA Computer Lab (Located on the 2nd floor of the Student Union) allows students access to over 25 computers and free printing up to 20 pages. Unfortunately, the process by which students wait for computers is not efficient. This is because a student who has already written a paper must wait in the same line to print as a student who still needs to write his or her paper. Our solution to this problem is to have a copying and printing service which students could use if they have already completed their work and only want to print. All other students who still need to write papers will then wait in a different line which will not only cut down on overall wait times but also provide more services for more students.Back to MenuSupply Free Scantrons Year AroundScantrons are offered free to the Student Body at many different Universities around the nation. Having scantrons in the Student Government office year round will not only spark student interest in SGA but will also provide students a crucial service when they don’t have time or money before that big test. Back to MenuLaunch Free Online Job SearchThe Student Government Association at UCF received the “Best Public University Student Government” in Florida award last year from Florida Leader Magazine. The magazine criticized our SGA for one particular thing and that was our SGA website. We want the SGA website to not only be every student’s resource but also an interactive link between students, companies, and the University. “Gold Pages” will be an online resource for all UCF students to look up local jobs and jobs on-campus that are available. It will also contain a student classifieds area for selling books, open spots in apartments, or even selling services that students may have. We will also keep updated records of scholarships available, meeting minutes, and upcoming events on the website for student reference.Back to MenuExpand Student Discount ProgramCurrently SGA is reaching out to local businesses to offer UCF student discounts. We would like to not only expand this program but also promote it highly and use the corporation contacts to help offer more student jobs. Back to MenuSafe Ride: Free Van and Cab RidesThe Safe Ride program is a program designed for students who find themselves in an uncomfortable situation and need a safe ride home. Currently the program allows 1 pass every 60 days from City Cab and only brings the student back to their home. With the high demand for bar buses similar to the UF Later Gator program we feel that the Safe Ride program needs to encompass students who plan on drinking alcoholic beverages and don’t want to leave their car in an unsafe area. Because the program only brings students home, some students chose to drive rather than leave their car in an unsafe or far away area. By picking up students from their houses and returning them home the Safe Ride program will be most effective and truly serve its purpose which is to keep UCF students safe in their University experience. We would also like to include City Cab Vans which would take two passes to use and would also serve the party atmosphere that some student’s desire.Back to MenuFree Transport from Airport to HousingMany international and out of state students find themselves lost when entering Orlando for the first time. As a Student Government Association we feel that it is our job to welcome them and make sure that they arrive to UCF safely. When an international or out of state student receives their letter of intent and orientation information we would like to include a safe ride voucher which will already have the students UCF address on it so that the student will grab a cab from the airport and go directly to their college housing.Back to MenuWork with UCF Police to Foster understandingGenerally in the past Student Government has not reached out to the UCF Police department and we feel that this is a big problem. It is important that the police department understand the needs of the people that they serve and protect everyday. We would like to foster a working relationship with UCF PD so that they can meet the student needs not only on campus but also off campus. UCF should be one of the safest campuses in the nation because we are fortunate to have our own police force. By meeting with them monthly to discuss school safety and student concerns we can make sure that UCF has the type of secure environment that students feel comfortable living around.Back to MenuProtect On-Campus Stadium TailgatingWith the recent planning and construction of a 45,000 seat stadium on campus by mid 2007, many students have stressed concern with tailgating policies and the overall tailgating experience that UCF will allow. As fans of the UCF Football team and UCF Athletics in general, we feel that this is a crucial element of the University experience and will work with the administration to make fair and respectable tailgating policies that will keep fans safe and at the same time provide the traditional gameday atmosphere.Back to MenuSolicit Student Input in Building PrioritiesA complaint that we hear all of the time is that “why are certain buildings being built when others are needed much sooner?” The unfortunate truth is that buildings go in the order of not only their priority but also the order of donations. Buildings such as the Biomedical Sciences are higher on the building list because private donations have been given to the university to help subsidize the cost. This means that if the university lobbies the state legislature for building funds they will have more money for other projects because the state will only have to pay a portion of the Medical school and this will allow the university to take on additional projects. We feel that although this is generally a good process there should still be student input on the Facility Planning Board which sends its recommendations to the Board of Trustees which the Student Body President sits on. This will allow Student Government to actively participate in initial discussions of building priorities and educate the administration of student needs and complaints. Back to MenuCreate Greek Park II Student Task ForceGreek Park II is a long awaited expansion to on campus living for many UCF Greek students. This project has been in the making for at least two years and as student body leaders we feel that this project really needs attention and dedication. We would like to create a position within our cabinet titled “Director of Greek Affairs” and their initial job would be to work with the Director of Housing for Fraternity and Sorority Life to start conversations with contractors who would like to take on Greek Park 2. This person will also weigh in on the rent prices, type of housing, and structure of Greek Park 2 to make sure Greek students can afford and take pride in their individual houses which represent long standing fraternity and sorority tradition.Back to MenuEnsure Classrooms Have Adequate AmenitiesOne thing that many UCF students are not aware of is that there are some classrooms on campus that do not currently have air conditioning, adequate seating, or even internet access. This baffles us as student leaders; a University should provide students with the every resource needed for a successful education and we will aggressively remind the administration about what UCF stands for and that is “Opportunity.” In the office of President and Vice President we will make sure these bare necessities are in every classroom and that no student’s education is ever compromised.Back to MenuRestructure CabinetThe current cabinet set-up within the executive branch of student government fails in many different ways. Many positions spend countless hours on projects that many of our SGA Agencies should be responsible for. SGA Agencies were created by SGA to work for the student body and the student body’s interests. We will restructure the cabinet to mirror our agencies which serve as the experts in their particular field. This will not only allow SGA to build better relationships with our agencies but will also promote interest within those agencies for committee involvement and student participation. Restructuring the cabinet will also allow SGA to make sure that our agencies are adequately funded and that their resources are plentiful. SGA should mirror a real government, by allocating funds to departments to carry out the peoples needs and by enacting policies to help those people in their everyday lives. Back to MenuIncrease Free Speech Areas on CampusWith over 6 years of experience in SGA, we both understand the many diverse initiative and outreach programs which students and student organizations participate in. We are open minded individuals who both believe that a University is a place for exploring creative ideas and innovative ways of expressing those ideas. That is why we both feel that the University should add at least one more free speech lawn to the University campus as requested by many different student groups. Back to MenuOnline Student Advocacy FormsThe most important duties of student government is advocating student issues to the administration and the government. A simple way to make this more effective is to have forms online that submit student concerns directly to the cabinet members that have jurisdiction. The Student Government website can be an incredible asset for advocacy, and our administration will work to ensure that the student body has direct access to the advocates that can serve them best.Back to MenuExpand Shuttle Services and Increase DependabilityOur plan is to help alleviate the parking problem on campus in two ways. The first is to help reallocate money from the black and gold lines that run in a circle around campus with very little ridership. We would propose to the university that one of the lines be eliminated, the other would be left to assist students with disabilities. The second part of our plan is to take the money saved from the elimination of one of those lines and create a system of more reliable shuttles by increasing the amount of shuttles available to surrounding apartment complexes.Back to MenuInvite More Notable Speakers to CampusThe university should be a place where ideas are debated and discussed and meditated on. A perfect way to accomplish that is to present those ideas by the experts in the field. One of our most prized initiatives is to work aggressively to get the most notable powerful speakers to campus to help educate students on topics ranging from politics, to ethics, to everyday philosophy. It is really important for students to have all the information that they can possibly get to make the most educated decisions possible.Back to MenuBring Concerts with More Diverse MusicOne of the biggest complaints from students to Student Government is that the concerts programmed do not appeal to a large base of students, but instead appeal to very specific demographics. Our plan would be to encourage the Campus Activities Board to get input from a wide base of students to find what type of music students want for the events to ensure that everyone in the student body is being reached out to. We want every student to feel that they have input in the process and that students should feel that their government cares about them no matter who they are.Back to MenuCreate Online Reservation SystemAfter speaking to dozens of student organization presidents, one of the biggest complaints is that most of the time student organizations have a hard time planning for events because they don’t know when a room in the student union is available. We will initiate a program that allows student organizations to access the calendar that the Union uses to take reservations online. With this initiative, student organizations will have all the information they need to program for the future. The same program applies to the intramural fields, student organizations need to be able to prepare for their organizations events, and the best way to do that is to have all the information that they need right at their fingertips.Back to MenuMore Organizations in The Multicultural Student CenterThe Multicultural Student Center was set up to be a place for multicultural students to be represented to the university and create cultural specific programming. The MSC has done an amazing job, but the demand on them has grown to such a point that it is time to reorganize to service more cultural students on our campus. Our plan for the MSC is to provide them with the funding that they need to continue their programming needs now, then increase their funding to do more programming with a larger constituency of students and include as many student organizations in the programming process as possible. We would like the MSC to have more large scale diversity and cultural initiatives on campus to reach out to and educate the entire student body on the diverse back ground of all UCF students.Back to MenuFund Agencies to provide more ResourcesAgencies are a crucial part of Student Government. They house the experts in very specific fields, for example, the Multicultural Student Center houses the experts in cultural issues. These agencies need to have funding available to them to reach as many students as possible. Traditionally, Student Government has had little, if any, oversight for these agencies to stay in touch with them and make sure that they are receiving all the resources they need to achieve their goals. We want to ensure that our cabinet is in constant contact with those agencies to generate ideas and to help them reach their full potential in assisting students.Back to MenuReframe SGA to Serve Student OrganizationsThere is an attitude in our University to not be heavily involved with student organizations and to separate the university from those organizations. We want to fight for students to have a very close relationship with the University and Student Government. We have a vision for our cabinet to be involved so heavily in student organizations that they meet with student organizations on a regular basis to ensure that organizations have a voice. We also plan to have a Presidential luncheon with student organizations once a month to talk to the leaders on our campus about what is important to them.Back to MenuRelocate Campus Faiths and Ministries OfficeThere is a tremendously large amount of religious students on our campus that don’t have a permanent office to call home. The office that currently holds Campus Faiths and Ministries is miniscule and in a remote part of campus where most students don’t know it exists. Religious students on our campus deserve a place to call home that is in a centralized part of the university and a place where students of all faiths can come together and discuss ideas and ideology. We will work to ensure that the ideas of religious students on campus are represented and heard by student government officials.Back to MenuFight for Right to Use UCF's NameCurrently the Legal counsel of the university has decided that Student Organizations cannot use the University’s name in the name of their organization. This is obviously very disheartening for organizations that feel that UCF is part of their identity. Organizations should have the right to use UCF in their name not only to appeal to UCF students but to bring more notoriety to the university. We will fight for Student Organizations to not be pushed away by the university and to be recognized by the university as an entity of the university.Back to Menu
