“The Student Government Association (SGA) aims to make UNC Greensboro a safer, more inclusive place to be,” says Azariah Journey, a newly elected SGA nontraditional undergraduate student senator.
SGA President Hazael Mengesha adds, “UNCG is so diverse. We are trying our best to represent each and every student.”
As the UNCG SGA begins its 100th session this school year, its primary initiatives focus on building community by creating consistency for students. “For the past two years, everyone’s lives have been inconsistent. We’re gaining students’ trust back and getting people more involved,” says Mengesha. “Our goal is to create structure, so future administrations can build upon what we’ve established.”
In addition to offering events students can count on, such as Spring Break Safety Week, Community Health and Wellness Week, and Black History Month initiatives, SGA leadership is committed to increasing reliable resources through UNCG.
“We want to expand advocacy at the local and state levels and increase funding for the campus and the community. We’re dedicated to showcasing the resources and strengths that UNCG has,” Mengesha says.
Strengths beyond the traditional student
UNCG has a large population of what Mengesha and Journey call “nontraditional undergraduate students,” including adult, international, and transfer students. Journey explains, “Nontraditional students can encompass anybody: single parents, former military, or anyone with more life experience or different life situations than your traditional freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.”
Journey is one such nontraditional student. As a married 29-year-old working to build upon her associate of arts degree, she felt disconnected and wondered about a role for adult students to be part of something larger at UNCG. “I didn’t see myself in a lot of places,” she says. “I was too old for Greek life, I don’t play sports, and clubs are based on majors. So many adult and nontraditional students want to connect and don’t know how.”
After meeting at the annual Fall Kickoff, Journey and Mengesha began talking about ways nontraditional students can get involved and have their voices heard. Their solution was to create a new SGA position: nontraditional undergraduate student senator.
“I think it is an honor that SGA saw there was a need and embraced it,” Journey says. “In my new role, I am focused on ways to help nontraditional undergraduate students get connected with UNCG and the Greensboro community.”
Leaders pushing for change
Mengesha, a senior kinesiology major with minors in biology and chemistry, never saw himself in a political position in college. “When I was in high school, my principal asked me to join the Equity Team, in which I talked to teachers about how to make classrooms more equitable,” he recalls. “When I got to UNCG, my friend pitched me to join SGA by telling me about the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. That’s what motivated me to get involved.”
Within SGA, Mengesha has served as a sophomore senator, co-chair on the DEI Committee, and SGA vice president before assuming the position of president upon the former president’s resignation.
Araziah, a senior history major, is serving as the chair for the Social Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (formerly the DEI Committee) in addition to being the nontraditional undergraduate student senator. As a community activist, she helped lead protests in downtown Greensboro in 2020. “It opened a new love for community,” she says. “I’m from Louisville, Kentucky, just streets away from where Breonna Taylor and David McAtee were murdered. When I arrived here, I wanted to get involved with the community of Greensboro.”
Getting involved with SGA
UNCG SGA is centered around advocacy, education, and service. Working within the overall framework of the University governance, student representatives address the interests and concerns of students and the University community.
In addition to the Social Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, which takes responsibility for cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment at UNCG, SGA members can join the Current Concerns, Elections, Finance, and Legislative Committees.
Senate meetings run every Tuesday at 7:00 pm in different campus locations. They are open meetings, so all students have an opportunity to attend and voice concerns in person. Meetings are also streamed on the UNCG SGA YouTube Channel.
For new students looking to join SGA as a freshman senator, fall special elections are held in September. Reach out to Maura Crenshaw for more information. Elections for the 2023-2024 school year will be held in the spring. Check the SGA website for updated information as it gets closer.
Get Involved with SGA
Follow UNCG SGA on Instagram to stay up-to-date on news and events for students, by students.
Story by AMBCopy, University Communications
Photography by Hunter Pham, University Communications
