Photo courtesy of @ButlerSGA on X.  

MAIRIN MCCARTHY | STAFF REPORTER | mkmccarthy@butler.edu 

The Student Government Association (SGA) is in the process of implementing several new initiatives since the March 2023 election that decided the roles of various elected positions on campus. 

SGA members ran for their roles based on their campaign platforms of bettering the university and invoking positive change for the student body. 

Now, in September, SGA’s legislative, judicial and executive branches have had time to plan how they will fulfill their campaign promises to the student body. 

Legislative branch 

AJ Boes, a senior economics major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is the speaker of the senate and a member of SGA’s University Life Committee. Boes said his branch has its sights set on creating more accessibility on campus. 

Advocacy for accessibility has taken campus by storm under the leadership of student organization Bulldogs for Universal Design, a group that has continuously spoken out against the inaccessibility of building entrances at Butler. 

“Right now, we are working on getting a new stage for the Reilly Room with a ramp attached to it,” Boes said. “The [stage] now is completely inaccessible and inexcusable; we are working with the university to implement this change.” 

In addition to prioritizing accessibility for students with disabilities, Boes’ team also plans to make the grant endorsement process more accessible to organizations on campus. 

The New Student Organization Endorsement Tracker and instructions on how to create a student organization on campus are available on the SGA website to help students better understand the grant process. 

“The endorsement process can be difficult to understand,” Boes said. “We are working on an online tracker to help organizations that are looking to [get an endorsement] from SGA so that [the system] can be more understandable.” 

Judicial branch 

Will Kissel, a senior computer science and computer engineering double major, holds the position of chief justice. Kissel’s main hope is to keep Butler students interested in campus politics. 

“Our goal for the spring election is to have a greater voter turnout and try to get each and every person to recognize how important it is to vote for elected officials on campus,” Kissel said. “It is important for [students] to know what they’re voting for and what each candidate stands for.” 

Kissel emphasized the importance of voting and how students on campus have the power to improve campus with their electing power. 

Executive branch 

Katie Stanley, a senior psychology and religious studies double major, is the current SGA president. 

Stanley has her sights set on a productive school year and has taken many steps in carrying out her campaign promises —  starting with expanding SGA’s Uber program to include religious accommodations. 

Stanley’s campaign relied heavily on the ideas of integrity, commitment and passion in serving the student body. 

“Part of our campaign plan was to give students the opportunity to go off campus for religious services with the Uber program if they have no other means of transportation,” Stanley said. “We’ve earmarked $5,000 of the student transportation budget to allow students a ride to church, synagogue, mass or whatever religious service they may be attending.” 

In addition to the implementation of this religious service, Stanley and her team want to hear back from Butler organizations on diversity, equity and inclusion grounds. 

“The Diversity, Equity, and Belonging Board (DEB) is really focusing on trying to get some feedback from student organizations that are in the realm of equity,” Stanley said. “Getting that feedback [is important] in making sure SGA is working as effectively as possible, and just having an open line of communication between the two.” 

Outreach between student government and the student body is a priority in Stanley’s campaign. In order to achieve this goal, Stanley and her team are trying new ways to receive student feedback. 

“[DEB] will have projects and different tabling events that coincide with student engagement as well,” Stanley said. “Having familiar faces come to your events and having students feel comfortable coming in asking questions [is important to us].” 

Follow @butlersga on Instagram to keep up with SGA’s goals and improvements on campus.