By Delaney Runge
Copy Editor
The start of the spring semester means that campus organizations such as the Student Government Association are preparing to hold events for the Washington College community throughout the upcoming months.
SGA President junior Miranda Parrish is looking forward to the events that the Executive Board has in store for spring 2024.
“I’m really excited to see all of the events that we’ve planned out kind of go into fruition, because last semester was our first semester where it was just us in our roles because we didn’t have anyone who was helping us transition,” Parrish said. “This semester…the whole board is really confident in themselves, and they all have really great and creative and exciting ideas.”
According to Parrish, this semester, the SGA is hoping to do more collaborations with clubs and athletics. These include tailgates like the celebrations thrown for women’s and men’s basketball on Thursday, Jan. 25, which included stickers, pompoms, and pretzels.
“I’ve been collaborating with Psychology Club, and we want to extend and talk to other clubs [like DayTrippers] about taking a day trip to go do goat yoga, which would be really fun,” Parrish said.
SGA Secretary of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion sophomore Lillian Shimon is excited for the Executive Board’s events as well as basketball tailgates. In their role, they will also be working on a number of affinity events this semester.
“I am currently planning an event for Women’s History Month, Black History Month, and an Afro-Caribbean Pageant. I am also working with Obella [Obbo] on the grand opening of the Intercultural Center,” Shimon said.
In addition to Shimon’s events, SGA Secretary for the Environment sophomore Zoe Brookbank is continuing many of the sustainability initiatives already in place such as the Bike Share Program, Expanded Recycling, Back-to-Tap Initiative, and the Environmental Holiday Campaign.
While not all events are set with a date yet, Brookbank shared some of her ideas for the upcoming semester that they hope to incorporate.
“Some of my plans right now are an outdoor teaching initiative in which I would help fund and supply the campus garden with [relevant] tools and resources to encourage professors to teach some of their classes in the garden,” Brookbank said. “We are also likely going to collaborate with the Garden Club to paint the new ramp to match the fun colors of the fence as well as hopefully use the bottle caps we have collected to get a new picnic bench put in place.”
Alongside planned events from the SGA, the spring semester is also when elections happen for the board.
“The other really big thing that happens every spring is SGA elections. And SGA presidency and vice presidency are direct elections, so every student votes directly for the candidate,” Parrish said. “We host the debate and tabling options for anyone who’s interested in running.”
SGA elections usually take place before spring break, so the student body should be on the lookout for more information as the semester progresses.
According to Parrish and Shimon, one of the best ways to stay informed about events on campus is to follow the SGA on Instagram @wac_sga, since they post about their own initiatives and often share club events, as well, on their story.
Elm Archive Photo
Photo Caption: The SGA’s annual Afro-Caribbean Pageant was hosted a few years ago in the Egg — last year, it was held in Decker Theater.