Students are the heart and soul of any university, and sometimes their voices can get lost in the shuffle. SDSU Students’ Association makes communication with the university at the local and state level all possible.

This group, made up exclusively of SDSU students, works hard to voice the opinions of the university’s students to better their experience.

SA is comprised of 30 elected senators from each of the university’s colleges, such as Arts & Science, Pharmacy, etc., and a few at-large positions. In that group of 30, two are the president and vice president. From this group of senators, six are then chosen to be part of the executive board that runs the organization.

Becoming a part of SA requires being elected in March for positions open for each college on the SDSU campus. At-large positions, however, can be filled at nearly any time throughout the year. With so many different and unique voices in SA, the opportunity to see projects come out of SA is a no-brainer.

SA President Mark York, a member since 2010, said the organization helps students find their voice in the university system.

“We work on projects to better the student experience by working with SDSU administration, the Board of Regents, Brookings City Council and the state legislature,” York said.

SA was most recently a part of a Brookings City Council decision that will bring Buffalo Wild Wings to Brookings. The group created a poll for SDSU students listing restaurant choices and Buffalo Wild Wings was SDSU’s top choice.

This year the SA senators have some important goals to discuss and accomplish.  First on their list is the expansion of the Wellness Center and the Performing Arts Center. The second most important goal for this year’s senators involves each of the student groups on campus. President York says SA senators plan to meet with each active student group once per semester to update the student organization list and to see what each group wants done to better the student experience.

Aside from the long list of projects the senators operate around campus, they also work with the university to help decide what foods are going to be served on campus, graduation requirements and other aspects of the Wellness Center.

“Every senator ran on different goals, so I am excited to help them out with those goals and to mediate and facilitate those goals to make them more successful,” said SA Vice President Anthony Sutton.

SA can be a very good opportunity for a student at SDSU. According to Sutton, the organization has made him who he is today and has created unique opportunities to better his career at SDSU.

“Being part of the SA creates a chance to understand the university and how SDSU operates in its role of creating relationships between the administration and students,” Sutton said.

“SA is here for every student on campus and to represent their voice as best as we can.  We love it when people come visit us in the office,” Arts and Sciences senator Brooke Reiner said.

SA meetings are on Monday nights at 7 p.m. in the Lewis & Clark Room in The Union and are open to all SDSU students.