Loyola University Maryland Student Government Association records

Loyola University Maryland’s student government has evolved over the years, with three name changes, new constitutions, and varying structures. Names are not always used consistently in the written record, and catalogs do not always reflect when the official name changes took place.

Student Council

According to Nicholas Varga’s history of Loyola, the first Student Council was formed in March 1928. It consisted of four senior class officers, three junior class officers, the president and vice president of the sophomore class, and the freshman class president. Its stated purpose was to provide liaison with faculty and national organizations of students. Its constitution was revised sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s to make it more democratic in structure. In September 1966, it changed its name to Student Government, since according to a Greyhound article, the name ‘council’ seemed to connote a secret, closed student body.

Student Government

The 1968-69 catalog first includes the name Student Government, and lists its three chief functions as representing the student body outside the college, providing leadership within the student body, and performing services, both social and academic, for the student body. Beginning in the early 1970s, the name of the organization appeared interchangeably in the Greyhound as Student Government, SG, and SGA, although there is no indication that ‘Association’ was a part of its formal name at this point. In March 1975, a new constitution was approved and the name was changed to Associated Students of Loyola College (ASLC).

Associated Students of Loyola College

The college catalogs list ASLC as having the same three chief functions that Student Government had, and also states that it is divided into three departments: Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Social Affairs. In February 1988, in a campus-wide referendum, ASLC approved a new constitution and changed its name to Student Government Association (SGA). Under the new constitution, SGA was divided into three separate branches: the Legislative Assembly, the Executive Council, and the Judicial Board.

Student Government Association

SGA has remained the name of the organization up to the present day (2018). Its page on the Loyola website states that it serves as a representative body for all undergraduate students. SGA “identifies resolutions to address student concerns, supports co-curricular and academic experiences, and strives to create a strong and diverse campus community.” The preamble to its constitution states its purposes: to take an active role in the governance of the university community, protect the interests and welfare of students, promote Jesuit values and service, and provide a representative leadership body for students. Its component parts are the Executive Board, which acts as a liaison between student government and university administration; the Assembly, which consists of elected and appointed representatives from each class year to plan class events and initiatives; and the Senate, which consists of three elected students from each class year who work to advocate for policy issues.

Sources:

The Greyhound (Loyola University Maryland student newspaper).

"Loyola University Maryland Student Goverment Association (SGA)." http://www.loyolasga.org/. Accessed 12 December 2018.

Varga, Nicholas. Baltimore’s Loyola, Loyola’s Baltimore 1851-1986. Baltimore: The Maryland Historical Society, 1990.