HIGHLIGHTS

On Friday, Feb. 21, Biola’s Student Government Association (SGA) met to discuss committee updates, club proposals and last week’s SGA presidential election. The following is a summary of the meeting:

• A Biola University (BU) x Azusa Pacific University (APU) Worship Night is to take place Feb. 27 on APU’s campus. Biola students and campus officers are encouraged to attend.
• SGA Senate passed a motion to fund Lot F, a sketch comedy club. 
• SGA Senate passed a motion to change the name of the “Department of Diversity and Inclusion” to “Department of Intercultural Development and Representation.”
• SGA President Jacqueline McCauslin announced next steps for hiring next year’s Student Body President.

SGA PASSES MOTION TO FUND “LOT F” SKETCH-COMEDY CLUB

SGA Senate voted on whether or not to fund “Live from Lot F,” a sketch-comedy group that puts on one live performance at the end of each semester. The club, based on sketch-comedy shows like “Saturday Night Live,” aims at facilitating an environment for Biola writers to present their work in front of a live audience. 

Last semester, “Lot F” performed their first live show in Mayers Auditorium, with over 350 people in attendance. 

“We want to solidify this as Biola tradition and SGA funds would absolutely help with that. We have pitched to OCE but only received part of what we needed for funding. Additionally, we are in talks to potentially partner with CMA,” said the proposal.

Elijah Van Gaasbeek, a showrunner for “Lot F,” presented the proposal to the SGA cabinet. The proposal was for $800, which would go to funding facilities service fees, location fees, screen printing materials, and a live band.

“Overall, Lot F would improve the student experience, both as an audience member or a part of the cast and crew. Lot F is a chance for our community to connect across majors, grade levels and dorms in a totally student-created context,” said the proposal.

Bluff Senator James Kneeland motioned to pass the proposal in full, one week earlier than planned. Horton Hall Senator Amelia Pearson seconded the motion. Overall, the motion passed unanimously, save for two abstains due to absence. 

“I think it was the fastest proposal we’ve ever passed,” said Hart Hall Senator Austin Rohm, in a conversation after the Senate meeting. 

DEPARTMENT OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TO RETURN WITH NEW NAME

SGA Senate voted in favor of changing the name of the Department of Diversity and Inclusion (DDI) to the “Department of Intercultural Development and Representation” (DIDR).

Maquela Golioth, SGA Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, began her proposal with an anonymous in-person survey. Student officers were asked to submit small note cards with “the first things that come to mind” when they heard the phrase “diversity and inclusion.” Of the total responses, one of the notecards was blank. 

Golioth said that the proposal for the change arose after concerns over recent political ties with the phrase “diversity and inclusion,” most notably President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders against the Department of Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The name change itself was the work of multiple cabinet members and faculty advisors, including Andrew Ambrose, Biola’s current SGA vice president. 

“[It’s currently] not the best language we can use to do our work well without building walls immediately upon conversation,” said Golioth. She referred to other “higher institutions” who were also changing the name of their respective departments. 

On the importance of the three new key terms in the name change — intercultural, development and representation — Golioth presented the following information:

• Intercultural: taking place between cultures, or derived from different cultures
• Development: the process of developing or being developed
• Representation: the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented

Upon Senate deliberations, Sigma Hall Senator Evan Thompson expressed doubts over the longevity of the new name, specifically “intercultural” in lieu of “diversity.” Golioth claimed that the phrase “intercultural” had anthropological connotations, as it has been used in multiple scientific studies, as opposed to the word “diversity.” McCauslin, along with Rohm, also pointed out that the current SGA Constitution had bylaws in place that would allow for quick changes in the department name, should they be necessary.

Alongside DDI, Biola’s Student Missionary Union (SMU) is also set to change its name to the “Department of Intercultural Development and Engagement” (DIDE). Golioth noted that both departments share similar names, apart from the final terms “Representation” and “Engagement.” Golioth explained this was intentional, as each department shares similar foundations in cultural awareness, but different end goals in outreach and advocacy.

Currently, Biola’s Department of Diversity and Inclusion focuses on presenting student concerns to administration, with multiple student officers sitting in on multiple diversity boards on campus. Recently, the department worked alongside Biola Human Resources to advocate for Bon Appetit student workers; they also worked to create Biola’s Global Student Engagement (GSE) handbook.

REVISIONS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Ambrose updated SGA Senate on recent changes made to the SGA Constitution. Alpha Hall Senator Jackson Wright and Thompson were tasked with reviewing the present SGA Constitution for any editorial concerns. Both Wright and Thomspon were granted “suggestion access” to the official Constitution document, in order to make editorial comments; such comments included spacing, capitalization and other formatting issues.

“We wanted it not to be perfect, but pretty close,” remarked Ambrose.

Ambrose also informed the SGA Senate of recent updates made to the official SGA website: 

• The Preamble to the SGA Constitution has been added to the SGA landing page, as well as an explanation of the document’s significance and its respective bylaws. 
• An amendment and revision log was added to the site to keep students up to date on any changes made to the SGA Constitution.
• SGA public statements from 5-6 years ago were removed from the site.
• Updated photos for cabinet members and Senate officers were added to the SGA “Meet Us” page. 

“We’re gonna totally rehaul this page, make it new,” remarked Ambrose.

UPDATES FROM SGA PRESIDENT MCCAUSLIN

SGA Senate brought their weekly meeting to a close with a word from McCauslin. McCauslin began her portion of the meeting with a quick announcement of the upcoming Biola University x Azusa Pacific University (APU) Worship Night Event on Feb. 27 at APU. McCauslin encouraged cabinet members to attend, as well as all Biola students. 

President McCauslin also spoke on recent developments concerning the LGBTQ+ presence on campus, and “denominational concerns from professors.” According to McCauslin, meetings will take place with Provost Matthew Hall this week and President Barry Corey in March to discuss the matter.

McCauslin also announced that she would begin filming and uploading video updates on the SGA Instagram page, with the aim of cultivating full transparency between students and SGA Senate. 

PRESIDENT MCCAUSLIN ON NEXT STEPS FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

McCauslin then transitioned to more recent news regarding the SGA presidential election. She prefaced her talk with a brief overview of the election process and results. According to an official SGA Senate statement made on the SGA Instagram account, SGA Presidential candidate Faith Ising “did not meet the required voting percentage outlined in the SGA Constitution for uncontested candidates and, therefore, will not assume the role of Student Body President.” 

McCauslin reminded cabinet officers that the SGA Senate was under the advisory counsel of a Biola faculty member during all points of the SGA election process. 

“We have always had an advisor with us along the way … That will continue to be the case until forever,” said McCauslin.

McCauslin maintained that recent amendment changes to the SGA Constitution did not influence the results of the SGA presidential election. According to McCauslin, any and all changes to the Constitution were ratified before the electoral process began. 

Regarding next steps, McCauslin announced that the SGA Senate will undergo a “presidential appointment process.” As per the constitutional bylaws, a committee of campus student leaders, cabinet officers, faculty advisors, as well as “multiple other high-level campus administrators” will be established to oversee the entire hiring process. McCauslin attested that “it will not be Andrew and myself choosing whatever presidential candidate we like.”

Currently, all applications for open SGA cabinet positions are live on the SGA Linktree, which is linked on the official SGA Instagram account. Candidates will undergo a two-step interview process, but not every applicant will be guaranteed an interview. The committee must reach a unanimous decision on the next Student Body president. 

“This process is modeled off the SMU presidential election process … [T]his process … has been successful twice now,” said McCauslin. 

With respect to what could’ve been improved, McCauslin mentioned two points: advertising and election dates.

“We did the same amount of marketing … except not put posters in the ground for candidates,” said McCauslin. She clarified that any discrepancies in on-campus advertising from years prior were the result of no competition during this year’s election. Last year, three parties were running for the position; this year, only one party was running for the position. 

“There was [more advertising], but most of it was not done by SGA,” said McCauslin. 

Advertising was also constrained by the limited capacity of the SGA Marketing Committee, which currently consists of two people. 

“In an ideal world, we would’ve done the marketing that would take ten people … Ideally, we’d love to do more marketing,” said McCauslin.

McCauslin also recognized that the SGA election dates should’ve been moved further into the semester. However, pre-existing Constitutional bylaws prevented this from happening. 

“Constitutionally, we couldn’t,” remarked McCauslin. 

According to the SGA Constitution, as read by Ambrose during the meeting, the SGA Senate election “shall be held no later than seven weeks prior to the end of Spring semester.” According to McCauslin, elections for the Spring 2025 semester were already pushed back one week — up to “the furthest point we could do elections.” 

McCauslin also recognized the current discrepancy in student body participation during the election. McCauslin noted that part of this was the result of the low retention rate within the SGA Cabinet itself. Currently, only two senators from the 2024–25 academic year will continue in the SGA senate next year — this was also the case last year. 

McCauslin encouraged SGA senators to bolster student engagement during their weekly SGA Hour events. McCauslin ended the meeting with one final remark concerning the role and goal of SGA. 

“We want to build a sandbox that you can all play in. Part of that sandbox is the Constitution,” said McCauslin. “[O]ur Constitution is not perfect, nor will it be. [B]ut, we shouldn’t be striving for perfection, we should strive for excellence, and there’s a difference in that.”

As of now, no student body president has been elected.