LSU's Student Government works tirelessly to make the campus a better environment for all students, staff, and faculty. Their mission statement is...

"... to advocate tirelessly the interests of LSU students by enhancing the student experience, promoting the image of the university and supporting student achievement on the campus and in the community."

This year, LSU's Student Government is run by President Stewart Locket, and Vice President Rachel Campbell. These two seem to have a great working relationship and even personal friendship, which makes it easy to see why their campaign has been so successful this year. It's rewarding to see actual differences being made on campus, and we owe thanks to Stewart, Rachel, and their whole cabinet for making real changes.

Student Government has put in place ~countless~ policies to fix issues and make the campus more functional; a lot of these you may not even know existed. On multiple levels throughout the university, SG has set initiatives to improve conditions; there have been improvements regarding academics, athletics, mental health, resources and campus accessibility, and student safety/transportation.

As far as academic changes, SG has set up many helpful tools on campus for students to utilize, including free scantrons, blue books, and printing in the union's Student Government Executive Office. Some plans also set in place starting in Fall 2017 were: student access to digital versions of the New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal; the restructuring of the PS-22 Policy to allow more flexibility for students for reasonable excuses (job interviews, grad school visits, etc.); expanding the use of electronic textbooks to bolster more affordable access; and revising the rules of the "concentrated study period" (dead week) to eliminate graded assignments during this time.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn6a3bVAQf3/

In terms of athletics, Student Government partnered with LSU Risk Management to provide water stations all around campus for football season. Also, now students can buy tickets to away football tickets and SG has even sponsored bus trips to attend these games. Playing into the safety and transportation aspect of LSU sporting events, SG has also sponsored post-game shuttles to get students home safely and efficiently after football games.

Some other plans set into place by Student Government include: the implementation of Mental Health Week on LSU's campus, where SG partnered with the Student Health Center and LSU Cares to give students and staff resources and emphasize support for mental health concerns; the running of the annual fall concert Groovin'; and the introduction of a 24-hour "coffee shop style" study zone on the first floor of the union during finals.

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Perhaps the most widely-influential mission set upon by SG was the #GeauxVote initiative, where there was a huge focus on spreading the word about the 2018 midterm election. Student Government set up workshops and pop-up meetings in Free Speech Alley to get people registered to vote. At these pop-ups, students and staff could easily register to vote with help from volunteers, get free pizza and prizes, and download the GeauxVote mobile app for better voting accessibility.

It's safe to say that Student Government has been very successful this year in making meaningful differences in our community. We're very lucky to have had such dedicated representation in our midst. Thanks for all you do, Student Government - you're killing the game.

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Follow LSU Student Government on social media - Twitter: @LSU_SG and Instagram: @lsu_sg, or click here to visit their website.