Seat at the table: Century of student government celebrated at Illinois State – Illinois State University News

seat-at-the-table:-century-of-student-government-celebrated-at-illinois-state-–-illinois-state-university-news

Dozens of alumni, faculty, staff, and current students gathered for a breakfast over Homecoming weekend to celebrate 100 years of student government at Illinois State University. The 50 attendees spanning multiple generations shared their student government experiences, which, surprisingly, weren’t all that dissimilar.

“The funny thing is the issues don’t change very much,” said Michael Schermer ’73, M.S. ’78. “What changes is how they’re represented.”

Student government has taken different forms at Illinois State over the years—founded initially in 1923 as a student council, it’s now organized as the Student Government Association (SGA)—but its function has largely remained the same. Through Illinois State’s tradition of shared governance, SGA provides students with a voice and a seat at the decision-making table.

Schermer attended the Homecoming event, and his connection to student government runs deeper than most; he was a student senator as an undergraduate and vice president of the student body as a graduate student before beginning a career as a staff member at Illinois State in which he served as advisor to student government for 20 years.

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