Student Government
Many of the positions on these committees are appointed by Student Government. If you're interested in joining one, please go here for more information.
Student Government
Student Government (SG) at the University of Chicago works to improve student life on campus and represents student’s interest to the administration. From running pilot programs to offer airport shuttles to creating factoids.uchicago.edu, fielding student complaints, and putting on a Variety Show at Summer Breeze, SG is successful at addressing the concerns on campus.
The president, two vice presidents, two student liaisons to the Board of Trustees, and SG’s legislative assembly (the College Council and Graduate Council) create committees that focus on issues ranging from student services to community relations and more. SG members vote on campus matters, allocate student activities fee funds, serve on SG and University wide committees, and help make the University of Chicago a better place for students to learn and grow. To learn more about how to get involved in the committees, or run for the College or Graduate Council, visit the SG website at sg.uchicago.edu.
Contact:
Scott Duncombe, President of Student Government, srduncom@uchicago.edu
Hilary Fruitman, SG VP for Administration, hfruitman@uchicago.edu
Matt Kennedy, SG VP for Student Affairs, mkennedy@uchicago.edu
Student Government Assembly
College Council (CC)
The College Council is the undergraduate legislative body of Student Government. The Council consists of 15 positions: 4 first-year Class Officers, 4 second-year Class Officers, 3 third-year Class Officers, 3 fourth-year Class Officers, and one "n-th" year representative. The committee is run by a Chair and Vice Chair that are appointed at the first meeting of the year. College Council members approve all decisions of the Student Government finance Committee (SGFC), draft and approve proposals brought forth on a variety of student issues including UCPD/student relations, the University Diversity Statement, and the University Sexual Harassment Policy, and also serve on an assortment of SG and University committees. Election to the College Council takes place during the third week of Fall Quarter and petitions are available online at the SG website, sg.uchicago.edu, or in the SG office, Reynolds Club 010. If you are interested in addressing student concerns, putting on events, or funding all organizations on campus College Council is the perfect place for you.
Contact:
Ben Esparza, Chair, benbejamin@uchicago.edu
Graduate Council (GC)
The Graduate Council is the graduate student half of the Assembly of the Student Government of the University of Chicago. The Council's purpose is to effectively represent the graduate student body and foster interaction between students from diverse disciplines. GC represents graduate students of all divisions and professional schools and is funded by graduate student activities fees, which all students pay upon registration.
Graduate Council rewards, respects, and represents U of C graduate students by sponsoring events, creating a forum for the discussion of graduate student issues, and participating in the Student Government Assembly. In the recent past, GC has sponsored many events including pub nights, dances, relaxation days, and trips to sporting events. GC has made significant progress increasing awareness of graduate student issues such as student health insurance, safety, and transportation. GC wants to ensure graduate students get everything they deserve from their U of C experience.
We have all worked hard to get this far and now that we are here we should be able to enjoy it. YOU DESERVE THE BEST! With graduate student participation and feedback, Graduate Council can make this year better than ever, but we NEED you! You are our constituents and we need to know what you want. Having problems with your program? Want to tackle a graduate student issue? Have an idea for a graduate student event? GC is the place you should be! We can connect you with the funding, resources, and people to make it happen. Every U of C division and professional school has one or two voting representatives on the council.
Voting representatives are usually elected by the divisional council at the start of Fall Quarter; contact your divisional council or GC for more information. Non-voting representatives are also an important component of GC. Any graduate student may participate in GC meetings and committees without being officially elected. We generally meet twice a month and provide free dinners for attending students. Graduate Council has several committees focused on different topics that meet on the off-weeks. These committees are: the Events Committee, Issues Committee, Finance Committee, and Graduate Funding Committee. If you are interested in learning about our events, you can sign up for the GC Events Listhost: gcevents@listhost.uchicago.edu. If you are interested in becoming involved with Graduate Council through one of the committees of GC or a University-wide SG committee, please contact the Chair of the Council.
Contact:
Anthony Green, Graduate Council Chair, ahgreen@uchicago.edu
Jigna Shah, Graduate Council Advisor, jigna@uchicago.edu
Student Government Committees
Student Government’s effectiveness is largely dependent on the ideas and initiatives of its representatives. SG Committees are vehicles of execution, providing financial support and organizational structure for anyone who is willing to seize an idea and run with it. Each member of the Executive Slate is responsible two committees.
- Committees of the Executive Slate:
The Executive Slate appoints members of the Student Body to these committees and the only requirements are passion and a willingness to take the initiative. MEMBERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO RUN FOR OFFICE and appointments occur throughout the year.
- The Student Liaisons to the University Board of Trustees
The College and Graduate Student Liaisons to the University Board of Trustees are elected to represent the interests and desires of the student body to the Board. The Liaisons interpret the wide range of concerns and issues of the quite varied student body and advocates for both long-range and short-term issues to the Board. The Liaison works closely with the SG Executive Slate, key University administrators, and meets with the Board of Trustees, usually through the Trustee Committee on Student Life.
Contact:
Hollie Gilman, College Student Liaison to the University Board of Trustees, hrgilman@uchicago.edu
Erica Simmons, Graduate Student Liaison to the University Board of Trustees, ericas@uchicago.edu
Website:
http://sg.uchicago.edu
- Programming Coordinating Council of Student Government
The Programming and Coordinating Council brings together the biggest programming groups on campus. COUP, DOC, MAB, University Theater, WHPK, and Fire Escape Films, are part of this committee. The main purpose of this committee is to bring these programming groups together throughout the year in order to foster communication and cooperation amongst them. This not only allows for the groups to know what the others are doing, but also to learn from each other and plan events together where their interests or goals are similar. Being part of PCC will allow you to learn about what these groups are doing, how they work, and you will also become a vital part of the communication and decision-making process. Most importantly, you will have a voice in the allocation of over $350,000. The membership of the committee is made up of heads of the 6 major programming groups and 3 students elected from and by the SG Assembly.
Contact:
Matt Kennedy, Chair, SG VP for Student Affairs, mailto:daveyboy@uchicago.edu
Website:
http://sg.uchicago.edu
- Student Government Finance Committee of Student Government
The SG Finance Committee (SGFC) is responsible for allocating money to all 300+ Registered Student Organizations (RSO) on campus. It is comprised of seven elected members: three graduate students, three undergraduate students, and a chair appointed by the Executive Slate. If you are involved with the finances or the planning of events for an RSO, then you should join SGFC. Your perspective will help insure that funds are distributed generously and fairly. Students can join SGFC by election from the SG Assembly only. The committee must be comprised of at least three undergraduates and at least 3 graduates, not to exceed seven members. The Executive Committee of Student Government then appoints a chairperson. SGFC meets every Tuesday during the year.
Contact:
Kati Proctor, Chair, kproctor@uchicago.edu
Website:
http://sg.uchicago.edu/
- Committee on Recognized Student Organizations (CORSO) of Student Government
The main purpose of CORSO is to serve and aid RSOs in every possible way. This group is the main advisory board to the Office of the Reynolds Club and Student Activities (ORCSA), which oversees all of the Registered Student Organizations in the University and provides them with several services. As a liason between the RSOs and ORCSA, CORSO does outreach to student groups and addresses their concerns and needs. CORSO is also responsible for reviewing applications from groups attempting to become an RSO and for putting on events that inform and respond to the needs of all groups. The committee consists of three elected members from the SG Assembly and three members who are nominated from among student leaders and appointed by ORCSA.
Contact:
Adama Wiltshire, Chair, adama@uchicago.edu
Website:
http://sg.uchicago.edu/
- The Student Liaisons to the University Board of Trustees
Student Life Committee
The Committee on Student Life will work to improve the lives of students by focusing on a variety of student concerns including minority and activist issues, health insurance concerns, community relations, and will also run the complaints.uchicago.edu website. This committee also runs the SG/RSO Variety Show at Summer Breeze. The Variety Show will showcase different performance organizations and gives them a chance to expose themselves to the campus community. The committee will address activist and minority concerns ranging from University Employment issues, community relations with the University, the Universities policies toward non-political stances or the Kalven Report, and the new Diversity Center coming to campus. A member will serve on the University Committee on Minority Affairs. The committee is also charged with the task of evaluating a variety of University polices effecting student health issues (i.e. Health Insurance/Packages) and will meeting with administrators and slate members to evaluate the effectiveness of university policies and cost in all health fields. The members of this committee will field all complaints from the Student Government complaints website and respond to those complaints as well as visit different houses and student organizations on campus to talk to students about their concerns. Members of the Student Life Committee interested in community serve will have an opportunity to work on improving relations between the university community and its surrounding neighborhoods by working with neighborhood leaders to foster a better working relationship and serving on university committees including the Student Advisory Committee on the Neighborhood and the Community Service Fund Council.
Contact:
Emale Gray, Chair, emale@uchicago.edu
Committee on Campus Services
The Committee on Campus Services addresses concerns pertaining to transportation, security, dining, on campus banking, and academics at the University. Members interested in transportation will work with Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and the Administrative Transportation committees including the Late Night Transportation Committee and Transportation Advisory Work Group in order to improve the transit routes to, from and around campus as well as parking lot space. From the A-F route, the 171/2/3 and the Late Night Van Service, members of this committee will ensure the campus transportation system is working effectively at all times and for all students. Other members will work sit on and work closely with UofC Committee on Safety and Security, Independent Review Committee for the UCPD, and the All University Disciplinary committee with the aim of creating a safe environment for all members of the University. In the area of dining, members will serve on the university Campus Dining Advisory Board which will focus on oversight and student response on the quality and structure on the Campus Dining Services. Members interested in banking will have an opportunity to work with the university bursar and the manager of Citibank with the purpose of advising the administration on issues of banking services provided to students.Members will also deal with academic services on campus including Cmore, course evaluations and class times and availability. Past contributions from the Committee on Campus Services include the development of a new events website that is expected to launch in 2006, leading a project to install a camera on the side of Eckhart and an LCD screen in the Reynolds Club to display information and allow people to watch for the buses while waiting inside during the winter, Created http://factoids.uchicago.edu to disseminate useful facts for students, Categorized and prioritized student complaints to NSIT about cMail, and audited the Regenstein library facilities problems (broken thermostats, etc.) and reported them to Facilities Services, along with various other facilities problems around campus.
Contact:
Chris Williams, Chair, chriswilliams@uchicago.edu
Website:
http://sg.uchicago.edu/
Student Government Assembly Committees :
In order to sit on an Assembly Committee, one must first win a University wide student election. Election to the College or Graduate Council takes place the third week of Fall Quarter. Members of other student organizations also recommend members to serve the Program Coordinating Council and the Committee on Recognized Student Organizations.
Student Government Association (SGA) of the School of Social Service Administration (SSA)
Student Government Association and the student organizations/activities of SSA provide students with the opportunity to express their views on a variety of issues of importance to the School and the profession of social work. Through their collaborative efforts, a system of mutual support for special events and activities is created within the student body. SGA and other student associations take an active role in the discussion of academic, professional, and political issues at SSA and in the community. In addition, SGA and the student groups also sponsor and co-sponsor various educational and social activities that enrich the graduate school experience.
Contact:
Willie Carl (C.J.) Harmon, Jr., President, harmonjr.wc@gmail.com
William Walker, Vice President, wjwalker@uchicago.edu
Website:
SSA student associations
