Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the opinions of the Conglomerate Staff as a whole. 

On October 4, 2022, the Student Government Association (SGA) held a Town Hall with the intention to hear from the student population and “to be a place where students could voice their opinions on SGA's performance and to be able to support or not support previous or passed resolutions” as stated by Ethan Little, former SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) President and the SAAC representative speaking. This town hall was used as an opportunity for Centenary’s student-athlete population to lobby for funds for hype videos and other marketing materials, specifically for spring sports. This particular marketing endeavor was supported by SGA last year as $7,000 was allocated to this effort, and the intention was for that money to be spread over a few semesters. According to a SAAC informant, the group was told that “some individuals on SGA thought the resolution previously passed was a waste of money and that they did not want to support it any longer.” This was concerning as “a member of the SGA finance committee messaged SAAC stating they would not fund it, even though no SAAC EC member had put forth a resolution, violating the bylaws of SGA.” 

This brings us to October 4th. The room was overflowing with about 200 student-athletes, coaches, SAAC representatives, and SGA. Hungry athletes found their places—most on the floor or standing—and awaited the promised Olive Garden and Bundt cakes. President Johnathan Okereke started the meeting with a welcome message and an admission that they had only planned for about a quarter of the population to show. The food was then distributed, and the meeting began. President Okereke opened the floor to SAAC representative, Ethan Little, who presented the SAAC’s goal for the night: to ask for funds to continue to go towards hype videos and marketing materials for Spring Sports and to show how much support there was for this endeavor. 

Those who are not in athletics may not understand the importance of this request to the success of the athletics program here at Centenary. However, imagine if your favorite college football, basketball, or baseball team had no online presence. This would make recruitment, morale, and support for the program incredibly difficult to muster up. This is the position that a lot of sports, especially spring sports, find themselves. 

The civil discussion turned sour upon a rebuttal from President Okereke, who immediately asked Little if he would like to see an increase in student fees to fund this venture. This comment was met with an almost Greek chorus of dissatisfied “whos” and “whats” from the attendees. The comment struck a nerve because not only was it irrelevant, as this was not the time for establishing a resolution, but it was also distasteful because it showed the student-athletes that SGA did not understand the position that these athletes were in. This population does not receive any financial compensation for their time and effort spent on their various sports because Centenary does not give athletic scholarships. 

From here, the meeting seemed to fall off the rails as anger built among the students over what administrative advisor Dean Mark Miller called a “misunderstanding” after the meeting. The athletes then wanted to understand where exactly the money they, along with every other student on campus, were paying was going. This is where the Bell Tower Ball was brought up as President Okereke asked if, in order to fund this alternate venture, the student population would like to see things like the SGA-funded Bell Tower Ball go. Many people at the meeting that had gone to the ball seemed to be dissatisfied with the event or at least held the notion that the importance of the event paled in comparison to the athletes' issue. 

As questions were asked and dodged, tensions rose between the athletes and SGA. Eventually, the meeting ended. In the minutes recorded after the meeting, Advisor Miller explains, “we can see that this is how people act when something they care about is threatened.” In addition to this Advisor, Ciocchetti provides some guidance reminding SGA that “what [they] do makes a difference.” This is true as Little reflects on his impression of the meeting, commenting, “I felt SGA listened but did not receive the message we clearly conveyed, and we are regretful that our concerns were debated, validity questioned, and that SGA representatives spoke poorly about students who spoke their concerns, who they are supposed to support/represent, in a private group chat.”

This leaves the question: what is SGA doing to improve their image among the student-athlete population? A poll was taken about the Bell Tower Ball in question, and as of October 27th, SGA has put down a payment for a “more cost-effective” venue for the event. The results of the poll were never made public. When asked for a comment about the future of SGA and their advocacy, President Okereke said, “we are looking for input, feedback, and ideas to better serve this campus. It is difficult to lead and advocate without any guidance from those you serve and represent, so we try to be proactive and really get out in front of the student body as we truly value people's voices. When students buy in and contribute to building their student government, we are able to accomplish some pretty impressive things for this campus and the broader community.”

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