The Virginia Tech Student Government Association (SGA) held an inauguration for incoming executive branch officers on Wednesday, April 14 on the steps of Burruss Hall. The officers were welcomed into their new positions after a campaign that began March 16 and ended March 29, with voting taking place March 30 and 31.

Senators and House representatives will continue to transition through fall 2010. Justices remain in office until a fall selection, nomination, and ratification process.

The Virginia Tech Student Government Association is the largest student organization on Virginia Tech’s campus, representing more than 23,000 undergraduate students. The SGA exists to provide an effective organization for the administration of student activities; to promote academic freedom and academic responsibility; to establish and protect student rights; to foster awareness of the student’s position in the campus, local, state, and national communities; to provide a liaison between the student body, faculty, and administration of the university. SGA is structured very similarly to the United States governance system, with an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch.

The executive branch is made up of the four elected officers and 43 executive directors. The SGA executive branch initiates many programs, services, events, and issues-oriented forums throughout the year to involve students in the life of the university. They include The Big Event, Relay for Life, the Tenants’ Association of Blacksburg, the Freshman Leadership Experience, and the newly established Virginia Tech Eco-Olympics.

The 2010-2011 executive branch officers of the Virginia Tech Student Government Association are

  • President: Henri “Bo” Going Hart from Columbia, S.C., a junior majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences;
  • Vice President: Elizabeth “Greer” Kelly from Richmond, Va., a junior majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences;
  • Secretary: Emily Jane Wilkinson from Smith Mountain Lake, Va., a sophomore majoring in psychology with a biology minor in the College of Science;
  • Treasurer: J. Corbin DiMeglio from Dumfries, Va., a sophomore majoring in accounting in the Pamplin College of Business.

Written by Katie Noland. Noland, a senior from Berryville, Va., is majoring in English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

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