Undergraduate Student Government Association amplifies voices

By Bryce Johnson •

Kyron Defreitas, senior business entrepreneurship major and court justice officer of the Undergraduate Student Government Association, feels that being in USGA is like having a family.

“I feel like it is definitely a place where freshmen or sophomores, or whoever comes into it, can essentially find a family and find people that they can actually all communicate with,” Defreitas said. “To me it’s giving a chance to change the NSU community for all the students and undergraduate students, making it a better place here and more enjoyable.”

USGA is made of undergraduate students who work together to improve campus and attend to the needs of the student body. Students in the group have mentors, join committees and advocate for the community.

On Wednesdays from 3 – 5 p.m., USGA holds open meetings in the Alan B. Levan Center of Innovation, on the fifth floor of the Alvin Sherman Libary, to discuss ways NSU can be more inclusive.

Shweta Shah, second-year public health major and upperclassman senator of USGA, first got involved by attending one of these meetings.

“Our USGA meetings are open to all students. They’re not closed meetings and students are welcome to come into our meetings and just observe how USGA works and also voice their opinion,” Shah said.

As the assistant dean and director of Campus Life and Student Engagement, Gerard Wheeler also serves as the adviser of USGA.

He supports student government by helping them implement changes at NSU, including the switch from Razor 2.0 to Razor 3.0, stronger material for the “NSU” and “FINS UP” letters in front of Mako Hall, and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Resource Center in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“It’s actually my favorite thing I would say of my job because it is being able to sit at the table, hear students, make change and then speak on behalf of their constituents,” Wheeler said. “I would say it’s the part of my job that I enjoy the most.”

Wheeler has seen several students grow into their roles at USGA and become more confident, including Manas Peddiboyina, senior public health major and president of USGA.

“Manas was very timid and very much so shy, and now he’s the president of USGA and leading, making decisions and doing all those types of things,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler feels that USGA provides voices for the voiceless, and Peddiboyina agrees.

“We like to think that we serve as the bridge between the gap of faculty and administrators and students. We like to raise student concerns and be the voice of the students, especially being the voice of students who feel voiceless, to try to enact positive change within our campus and our community,” Peddiboyina said.

USGA often conducts surveys to collect and understand students’ concerns,

Daniyal Baig, second-year business major and upperclassman senator of USGA, said these surveys led NSU to implement a Pharmabox initiative, which are vending machines with over-the-counter medications and personal care products.

“Last year, we did a Pharmabox initiative. UM and a lot of other schools had a Pharmabox on campus. We met with higher ups and that’s coming soon, starting with the Tampa campus, and it’s going to all Nova campuses,” Baig said.

In addition to implementing students’ needs on campus, USGA hosts several different events every year.

Peddiboyina is looking forward to USGA’s annual tailgate on Nov. 10 as part of homecoming week.

“At this tailgate, we’re going to have food, games, fun things like that,” Peddiboyina said. “We’ve held it last year, and we are holding it again this year, so we’d love to see students come out and enjoy and meet organizations, fraternities, sororities, clubs and the USGA over there as well.”

Wheeler encourages students to attend USGA’s events and weekly meetings in the Levan Center, as well as vote during USGA’s elections.

“I would love to see students vote way more than they have. This last year, I think about 1,200 students actually voted in the USGA election. And that’s the most I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here,” Wheeler said. “But I would love to see 4,000, 5,000 students voting because these are the people that represent them and their needs and what they want.”

For more information:

Visit USGA’s office in Don Taft University Center Suite 1235, send an email to usga@nova.edu and follow its Instagram @nsu.usga.