The goal and purpose of the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) is to represent and serve the needs of the undergraduate student community at UNH as well as provide a forum for students to express their concerns. However, the constantly changing nature of the community and its needs requires the USGA to improve and change as well.
The USGA Retreat is an event where members of the organization and non-members who wish to help improve the USGA travel off-campus for an intensive period of fun, discussion, and education. The purpose of the retreat is three-fold: to inform and educate attendants to the inner workings and structure of the USGA and the various groups that make it up, to discuss and learn ways and strategies to continue growing and developing as an organization and, of course, to have fun!
This year, the retreat was held from Friday, January 21 to Sunday, January 23 at the Smuggler’s Notch Ski Resort in Vermont. Attendees had the chance to ski, snowboard, ice skate, and relax in the resort’s heated pool. More importantly though, the group came together for numerous sessions with topics ranging from the USGA Senate and how elected senators can best serve their constituents to the Point System that determines a club’s budget. Other topics included which clubs compose the House of Representatives to the budget system and the forms and processes that clubs go through to request and obtain money. A common trait among all the sessions was how to improve the current system to make everything more accessible to the student body and more capable of meeting their needs. The sessions concluded with a round table discussion, which included some of the above topics as well as campus athletic and establishing university traditions. Attendance at the retreat was larger than ever before and everyone passionately took part in the sessions.
Every attendee came back to UNH refreshed and much more prepared to serve the university community. The USGA serves a vital role in the University of New Haven and will now be even more prepared to work towards the benefit of the entire undergraduate student body. The USGA maintains its own website, chargervoice.com, where students may submit any concerns they may have. Meetings for the spring 2011 semester are Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. and all students are welcome and encouraged to attend and become involved.
