At the end of the Spring 2025 semester, Evelyn Quail, senior public policy and public service and political science double major, could be found all over Hofstra University. Her “Elevate Hofstra” presidential campaign for the Student Government Association (SGA) dotted tables from the Netherlands Hall Cafe to the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, making promises that were not just talk.
“The reason I ran for this position is to elevate Hofstra to meet student expectations and to match the price that we pay to go here,” Quail said.
The SGA distributes money among campus clubs and organizations, plans and collaborates with other clubs to create events throughout the year and acts as a mouthpiece for the student body to communicate with administration. Quail and SGA’s vice president, senior filmmaking major DaeJa Young, want to focus on the latter, listening to students and helping them get the resources they need.
“I feel like there’s a big disconnect right now between administration and students, and, as SGA, we do act as the bridge between that,” Young said. “I would like the bridge to be a little stronger.”
The pair face a few challenges in completing their goals this year. Budget limitations are always a factor, and some issues are out of SGA’s jurisdiction. While they still plan to act on their initiatives, it may take years of bureaucratic effort before resolving certain issues. Quail and Young’s primary concern now is that the student body’s trust in SGA is weak.
Much of SGA’s work is done outside the view of the general student body. The products of this work weave themselves into campus life so seamlessly that students may not realize when SGA makes an impact. For example, last year, the 89th Senate put menstrual product dispensers in bathrooms, hosted a canvas painting event for clubs and hung the finished products around the student center and facilitated discussions to have the Palestinian flag hung in the student center atrium. Past SGA senates have collaborated with Black Leaders Advocating for Change (BLAC) and Campus Dining to bring BLAC Eats, a bi-weekly event feeding students Black and Caribbean cuisine. The 87th SGA senate ordered clocks for all classrooms on campus in Spring 2023.
SGA works to implement new initiatives and connect students with existing resources. In addition to her work with SGA, Young is a resident assistant. One of Young’s residents informed her that, due to a gluten allergy, she mainly eats salads on campus and otherwise orders outside food because she was unaware of the resources available to her. Quail and Young want Hofstra students to trust SGA and reach out to them with their problems.
“Multiple students a day find something that could be fixed, and because they don’t know where to go or who to turn to, some go to us, but some just live with the complaint,” Young said.
Students can file their concerns about campus by talking to someone in the Center for Student Collaboration in Room 242 of the student center, also known as the SGA office. From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., a senator, associate, chair, vice president or president will usually be available to help. Instagram DMs are also open for questions and concerns. SGA’s preferred method for digital communication is with an email to [email protected], which will be forwarded to the appropriate committee. Additionally, Quail and Young are happy to receive student concerns through a simple chat in the halls.
“We’re students too. We’re just like you; we have the same issues,” Quail said. “We see the same things. We want to hear from you, and we want to make it better, and we have the ability to do it.”