A Change of Government: New Student Government Constitution

Most students at Pitt-Greensburg are familiar with the Student Government Association (SGA) and its role in supporting the university’s operations. However, what some may not know is that the SGA operates under a written constitution, which is set to be amended for the first time in years.

The Student Government holds weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 11:45 a.m. in Village Hall 118. While most meetings are open to the public, certain closed sessions are held privately. 

At their most recent meeting, the Senate discussed the draft of the new constitution.

“The new constitution isn’t really changing anything that SGA does, it’s mainly just updating it to be more technology-friendly,” said Al Thiel, SGA advisor.

Thiel emphasized the importance of updating the constitution, noting it hasn’t been revised in nearly a decade.

“A lot of the stuff that’s in there now was written years and years ago before there were things like online voting. Everything was very pencil-and-paper back then, which has changed tremendously in the past 10 years or so,” he said.

Student Government President Isaac Stephens, a junior majoring in political science, agreed that a new draft is necessary due to inconsistencies in the older version.

“There’s a lot of things in there that are definitely outdated, such as how our secretary was technically responsible for writing our bi-weekly newsletter. But we haven’t done that in years because of social media and the Insider, so it kind of defeats the purpose of that,” Stephens said.

The new draft is unlikely to significantly impact the SGA’s operations or the university as a whole.

“They’re really just updating the wording, and anything they’re removing from it hasn’t been used or is just no longer necessary,” Thiel said. 

When asked whether President Trump’s executive orders would affect the new constitution, Thiel seemed doubtful.

“I really don’t think that anything he’s been doing will necessarily have an impact on SGA or the constitution, but we’ll just have to see what else happens until then,” he said.

Before finalizing the constitution, the campus community will have a chance to vote on the proposed changes through a survey sent via email to students, faculty, and staff.

“Before it gets finalized, it will be put out to the whole campus. It’s just like any other changes in government where it’ll say, ‘Okay, here’s what we’re doing, and if you have feedback, let us know,’” Thiel said. 

Finalizing the new constitution isn’t one of the SGA’s most pressing issues. Stephens isn’t sure when the vote will happen but expects it to occur at the next meeting.

“I believe we’re going to vote on it at our next meeting, but if need be, it’ll wait until the week after,” he said.

For questions about the Student Government, contact Isaac Stephens at ids15@pitt.edu or Al Thiel at ajt58@pitt.edu.