Shippensburg University’s Student Government Association (SGA) hosted its final meeting for the 2024-2025 academic year in the CUB MPR on May 1.

On the agenda for Thursday’s meeting was the swearing-in of officers and senators for the 2025-2026 academic year and the approval of four new student groups.

Noted for this meeting is the unprecedented situation regarding the new SGA President Nathan Garber, who will only be serving as president for the fall 2025 semester. For Garber to be able to run for president, previously set rules in the SGA Constitution had to be reevaluated.

The meeting kicked off with all present SGA officers and senators highlighting both recent and upcoming campus activities.

Following a brief open gallery discussion, certificates were given to SGA members in recognition of their services.

Toward the end of the meeting, SGA Vice President of Student Groups Ella Zinn began the motion to approve of the university’s four new student groups. Each of the four was approved by a majority of votes.

The new groups consist of the Raider Run Club, the National Society of Black Engineers, Club Tennis and the Art Club.

According to Zinn, the adviser for both the Raider Run Club and the National Society of Black Engineers will be associate professor of engineering Joao Dias. Associate Director of Intramurals and Club Sports Dylan Curtis will be the adviser for Club Tennis. Adjunct professor of art and design Kathryn Keely will be the adviser for the Art Club.

At the end of the meeting, the SGA officers and senators for 2025-2026 were sworn into their new positions. Nathan Garber was sworn-in as SGA President, Daniel McCleary took the position of vice president and Emily Wojnarski took the position of Vice President of Finance. Ella Zinn was sworn-in as the returning Vice President of Student Groups.

The new Senators for 2025-2026 were sworn-in following the officers. The list of senators who will be serving over the next academic year is as follows:

· Ryan Mills, College of Arts and Sciences Senator

· Cejay Cocco, Wood Honors College Senator

· Ethan Conrad and Elliot Oliphant, Athletics Senators

· Marlon Aristy and Tymire Roher, MSA Senators

· Ayden Kurtek, RHA Senator

· Ashlynn Gill, Panhellenic Council Senator

· Ethan Sommer, IFC Senator

· Keith Hutton, NPHC Senator

· Kenny Tran, Class of 2026 Senator

· Kyle Marzullo, Class of 2027 Senator

· Chase Garrison and Matthew Jones, Class of 2028 Senators

Prior to adjourning the meeting, new SGA President Nathan Garber announced that the SUSSI office is working on a yearbook. Garber asked the audience to send student group and campus activity photos to the SUSSI email ssinc@ship.edu.

Thursday’s meeting was adjourned at 4:52 p.m.

President Nathan Garber will be graduating at the end of the fall 2025 semester, which is irregular for the Student Government Association as most presidents serve a full one-year term.

Article V section I of the SGA constitution sets the qualifications for those running to hold an officer position, which includes those running for the president position. Clause IV of section I states that an officer must have “actively enrolled undergraduate status throughout both semesters in office.”

Because this situation is unprecedented, a conversation formed around who will become president going into the spring 2026 semester. “I won’t be serving as a grad student,” Garber said. “With the disinterest in running for this role, it was decided that I would run technicalities aside.”

The decision for Garber to be eligible to run was made during a discussion with the Executive Leadership Committee (ELC).

New SGA Vice President Daniel McCleary followed up by suggesting, “These are conversations we will have as we have dialogues over the summer.”

Student disinterest in running for SGA positions was cited as the reason for allowing Garber to run for president.

“With this lack of people that are involved, do we turn away someone that is involved because they don’t meet that criteria,” SUSSI Executive Director Kimberly Rockwell said.

Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Lorie Sheetz, the adviser for SGA, expressed her interest in having an election in the fall to decide who will become president in the spring.

“They would be mentored under [Nathan] for the fall, and then they would become it in the spring. Kind of unprecedented, but we didn’t have another option,” Sheetz said

During the SGA Senator elections earlier this semester, a candidate was disqualified because her GPA did not meet the minimum requirement. “The GPA requirement that we have is fair,” Rockwell said. “The goal isn’t to set students up for additional failure.”

“GPA is not one that I would want to bend on because we do want them to be a student first. We have had other students that had to step back for a semester before they came back because they didn’t meet the requirement,” Sheetz added.

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