Dear Auburn Family,

Our 2023-2024 SGA term has come to an end. Projects were completed, initiatives came to fulfillment and relationships have deepened. We can confidently say that we worked hard to leave Auburn better than we found it. We have been honored to spend the past year intentionally serving our campus and we are eager for what is to come within the next term. Given the amount of achievements, the monthly newsletter looks a little different. This month, we aimed to compile our overarching updates over the full term.

Cabinet:

 

Senate:

 

Executive Student Council:

 

Lobby Board:

 

Freshman Forum:

 

Elections:

 

Miss Auburn:

We conclude this final newsletter from the ‘23-’24 Communications and Marketing team with a farewell letter from SGA ‘23-’24 President John David Jones.

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Auburn Students,

As my term as SGA President comes to an end, I am left with many reflective thoughts, best described by former Auburn Athletics Director David Housel. Housel described his experience at Auburn: “Unless you have experienced it, you will never know what is, you will never understand it. Once you have experienced you will never be the same. A part of you will, forevermore, be an Auburn man or an Auburn woman.” Auburn is truly a special place, and giving your time to serve it will never lead to regret.  

Following last spring’s election, I was overcome with passion and emotion as I entered my term. Our SGA Executive team set lofty goals – goals that we thought could leave meaningful impacts on the Auburn student experience. As we solidified our team, and began to work, I began to experience Auburn in more unique ways. I soon recognized that it was not the accomplishment of completing your goals, but the experiences with people around you that would leave a lasting impression on our beloved Auburn. Truthfully, it is not the buildings that are built, or the programs implemented, but the human touch of the Auburn family that creates the experience that David Housel describes.  

Through these relationships, SGA worked to accomplish numerous goals: We sought to provide an improved gameday experience across all sports. We have secured the resources for an interactive campus map and a campus-wide app platform that encapsulates your Auburn experience. We will soon oversee the installation of the Aubie statue outside of the Melton Student Center. We have advocated to provide more space for students across campus amidst recent growth. We have strived to consolidate resources, pushing for a syllabus bank and a more standardized Canvas page. We looked forward, advocating for financial wellness across campus. We were able to add a Mental Health Tab to your Canvas page to connect students to the resources they need. Fortunately, this list is just a start. One thing I have realized is that accomplishing any project comes on the other side of having the right people in the right places. Without these people, my term would have seen very little success.  

As Auburn continues to reach new heights, I am consistently reminded of my thoughts and feelings from my freshman year. I undersold what I thought Auburn would do for me. I knew it would give me a competitive degree, but upon my graduation this May, it will have given me more than I could have dreamed. I have experienced Auburn in a plethora of ways, been exposed to life-changing experiences, and encountered mentors, friends, and family. As I leave The Plains, I am challenged to remind others that it is those relationships that will accomplish any goal you set. I have been blessed to experience Auburn, and I too will never be the same.  

John David Jones

SGA President 2023-2024

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We thank you for the privilege of serving you.

Sincerely,

SGA

 

Dear Auburn Family,

As we continue into this holiday season, we hope that you find joy and rest. SGA worked diligently throughout November and we are pleased to share with you what we have accomplished.

In this newsletter, we will cover Safety Walk, Better Relations Day with The University of Alabama, Breaking Barriers Event, Mental Health Awareness Tab and Concoursing, the beginning of Spring Elections and Ring Night.

We kicked off the month by participating in the Safety Walk on Nov. 7. Looking for poorly lit areas, damaged sidewalks, and re-evaluating blue light placements are just a few ways we ensured safety for all. We are committed to making our campus as safe as possible for all and are thankful to Campus Safety, Auburn Police Department, and Auburn Communications for their partnership.

This year, we had the honor of hosting the University of Alabama’s SGA during our annual Better Relations Day on Thursday, Nov. 9. In hopes of fostering relationships and learning from each other, both SGA’s exchange visiting each other’s campuses traditionally. This event featured representatives from all branches of Cabinet, Senate, Judicial, Elections, Miss Auburn’s committee, Miss Homecoming, and Miss UA. In total, 88 SGA members attended.

It was a day of rich conversations. Several SGA members led breakout sessions on topics including: Upholding Traditions, Better Relations within Student Government, Communication and Programming, Ensuring the Individual Student’s Voice is Heard and Enhancing the Student Experience.

We concluded the day with Auburn’s SGA President, John David Jones, and Alabama’s SGA President, Collier Dobbs, signing the 2023 agreement in honor of uniting the universities. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to every individual who played a part in this day.

The following week, SGA members participated in the annual Breaking Barriers Event on Nov. 14. The collective governance groups, BSU, ISO and SGA came together to discuss topics over ice cream. Building relationships and furthering unity are at the core of this event. The groups conversed about community, belonging, housing, mental health, recruitment, retention, affordability, safety, and our organization’s outreach across campus.

Brand new to Canvas, our SGA Executive Team launched a mental health tab for students, staff and faculty on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Including information regarding Auburn Cares, the Student Counseling and Psychological Services (SCPS) and mental health emergencies, this tab ensures quick availability to various mental health resources offered on campus.

To promote the Canvas tab, SCPS collaborated with SGA on the Haley Concourse the afternoon of the launch. We had the privilege of hosting the SCPS therapy dogs, a portion of the SCPS counseling team and handed out promotional items to students. It is an honor to be working with our mental health services on campus and taking steps to make mental health care more accessible at Auburn.

The beginnings of Spring elections occurred this month as the Top 5 candidates for Miss Auburn were selected. Nominated by various organizations, Eligible women were chosen to interview on Monday, Nov. 27. After the first round, the Top 20 were announced that night. The individuals then completed a second round of interviews with the Top 5 being announced on Tuesday, Nov. 28. In no particular order, this year’s Top 5 include: Grace Crim, Alexxia Carter, Lily Pounders, Claire Congo and Abbie Starr. Please keep your eye out for these candidates on the concourse for campaign week Jan. 30 – Feb. 2.

As the month came to a close, SGA hosted our fall Ring Night for students receiving their class ring on Nov. 30. Ring Night welcomed Aubie and other special guests to bring spirit to beloved traditions.

Lastly, we hope that you will join us as SGA hosts Up All Night. This finals week event treats students with late-night snacks and appearances from a few of Auburn’s special guests. The event will take place in the Ralph Brown Draughon library Dec. 3 – Dec. 7.

To the student body, we wish you all the best during finals week.

Thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you, Auburn.

Dear Auburn Family,

We can’t believe that our fall semester is halfway over and the holidays are right around the corner. October has been a special month for SGA, and we are eager to share with you what all that we have accomplished.

Following Miss Homecoming, SGA’s Elections branch with the Aubie Committee, Auburn University Dance Marathon, and the student body at large, hosted a T-shirt drive. SGA collected over 300 t-shirts that were donated to Big House Opelika, a non-profit organization that supports the foster care system in Lee County. We count it as a privilege to work with the Lee County community to upcycle campaign and organization shirts to give back to those in need.

Beginning in late September and extending into early October, SGA hosted Ring Week. This was a week-long campaign for students and alumni to purchase their Auburn ring and resulted in 615 sales – one of the highest results in history. To discover more about this beloved tradition and ceremony, please visit this link.

Upon the completion of Ring Week, our Civic Engagement team hosted a two-day event to promote voter registration. With many brand new voters coming into Auburn, the opportunity to register is of great importance. With the promotion days, SGA assisted 245 students complete their registration. This satisfied an initiative successfully as our team saw a drastic rise in registrations compared to previous drives.

Moving into a staple of October, SGA celebrated and executed one of our most cherished traditions: Hey Day. Dating all the way back to 1947, students devoted a day to greet strangers by name and cultivate a culture of belonging following a difficult season in our country. To dive deeper into the rich history of this day, please follow this link.

This year, we hosted Hey Day on October 18th. SGA distributed 10,300 name tags across the nine stations with one larger station on the campus green. This larger station offered bagged lunches with pulled pork sandwiches, chips, and cookies all provided by  Tiger Dining. Going the extra mile, SGA linked arms with every individual college, 12 downtown businesses, and 18 campus partners, supplying each with name tags and gimmicks such as stickers, buttons, and keychains.

SGA hosted The Auburn Cheerleaders, The Tiger Paws, Miss Auburn University 2023 Karoline Copeland, The War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen, Miss Auburn  Kate Preston, along with the Auburn Women’s Basketball team and coach Johnnie Harris. Auburn’s radio station, WEGL 91.1 FM offered lively music, and Auburn’s Yearbook, the Glomerata, staff created and captured content throughout the day.

The next day, our Campus Life branch hosted the first-ever War Damn Wellness event. Learning all about healthy lifestyles and habits, our student body explored further the resources that the University’s Medical Clinic and Recreational Center has to offer. The concoursing event on October 19th had the goal of advocating for, promoting, and collecting productive feedback about existing campus health resources. Additionally, these teams aimed to promote the spread of healthy lifestyles and habits.

Lastly, with the ambition of assisting Auburn students financially, our Financial Projects Branch has been at work. Within their term, they have collected resources to inform students of ways to receive aid from local businesses and partners. One resource provided by SGA and the Auburn Chamber of Commerce is the AU10 initiative, which allows students to save 10% on their purchase at participating businesses. To the student body, you may discover more financial aid resources available here.