With a new academic year ahead, the Student Government Association has several big changes for the campus.

According to Jamie Thompson, the director of Student Involvement, the first initiative that SGA is planning for is the installation of B-Cycle on campus.

“The B-Cycle initiative will be a fantastic partnership with the city. It has been put on hold because of elements within the city,” Thompson said. “SGA made a commitment and approved the use of funds for that purpose. They’re still interested and supportive of that program.”

Sean McCutchen, president of SGA, explains that the installation of the B-Cycle stations should be completed in the fall.
“B-Cycle should be on campus August or September. This was an issue started before my tenure. It’s been ongoing for over a year now,” McCutchen said.

In 2014, SGA had discussed the potential of eliminating the residency requirement for juniors. In response to this discussion, SGA sent out a survey regarding the third year residency requirement, which did not garner much participation from students according to David Tuttle, associate vice president and dean of students.

“The lack of response on the student survey sent a bit of a signal to the board and the administration, that despite some anecdotal evidence, people really didn’t care that much about the issue,” Tuttle said. “Through hearing from Student Government, it’s reinforced for them that this is the ethos of our campus that we’ll have a three year residency requirement. I would say that the issue is dead.”

McCutchen plans for SGA to improve the residential experience for juniors.

“I think Trinity should work towards increasing the value of the campus. For example, North Hall renovations are a very good step in that direction,” McCutchen said. “The removal of the third year requirement was never a set goal but it was one of the options on the table. So that juniors have the experience they deserve.”

Additionally, McCutchen hopes to continue the conversation regarding a smoke-free campus.

“To be frank, I expect Trinity to be smoke-free in a few years anyways, just because that’s the trend of colleges around the nation,” McCutchen said. “That’s something we’ll probably revisit, because the smoking survey showed enough interest in the topic.”

SGA intends to continue pursuing more issues based on campus climate within the coming year, according to Thompson.
“The role of SGA,” Thompson said, “is to be an advocate for the student voice on campus and advocate for their needs.”