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Written by: Dan Merica
After a year of both challenges and successes, Puja Shah, President of Student Government Association, finds it difficult to leave the position she has decided not to run for again, but believes that her tenure as president “really set the student government up for the next year.”
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” said Shah. “I talked to a number of people, I got so much advice, and I think this decision was, even considering all the challenges, the hardest decision I had to make this year.”
The 2009 – 2010 academic year presented a number of challenges to SGA, though Shah is confident that overall, SGA has had success.
SGA sustainability efforts, working closely with a number of other groups on campus, have led to $340,000 in energy savings, while the goal of streamlining the smoking policy on campus was achieved when a bill passed earlier this month.
In addition, the Sodexo Quality Project Group produced a report regarding what needs to be changed to make dining on campus more enjoyable.
While Shah is proud of the work SGA has completed in their project groups, when asked what she thinks SGA has done truly remarkably this year, she quickly answered, “Our outreach efforts.”
“For the first time since I have been on student government, more people know about SGA and what we do,” said Shah. “No, it is not at the level that I wish it was, but I think that we have significant strides this year.” Shah called this her “original goal” from when she became SGA President.
Even with the successes for SGA, this year has not been devoid of “areas that could be improved,” as Shah put it. Day of Service, a day that planned to bring Bentley students together to partake in community service around the Waltham area, was one project that Shah hoped could have happened under her presidency.
Though certain projects did challenge Shah and SGA, the most challenging aspect of her position was representing the student voice when whoever is making the big decisions “doesn’t always want to consider it.”
“The student voice isn’t considered sometimes, and I think that is the most frustrating part [of my position] because we are here to represent the voice of the students…” said Shah. “I am not saying that our voice as students should be the end all be all, but I am saying that [the lack of consideration] is hurtful sometimes,” she continued.
Shah cited changes made over the summer in 2009, namely the cutting of the Newspaper Readership Program, the revamping of Seasons Dining Hall, and the changes to IT 101 as areas in which SGA was left out of the loop and situations that challenged her. “I think first semester we spent a lot of time kind of playing catch up for all of the changes that were made over the summer,” said Shah.
These were areas that caused a friction with the administration, placing tension on the relationships that Shah believes are so important to the success of SGA.
“Ultimately, what it comes down to is that student government is the voice of the students, and we don’t take that lightly,” said Shah. “We do our best to represent what students want, but I think there is always going to be that disconnect between administration and students.”
With these aspects inherent to the position, Shah believes that there are insights that she has learned over the last year as president that would benefit her successor. When asked what her biggest piece of advice would be, Shah stated, “Remember what is true to you… It is very easy to get caught up in [the position].”
As the gavel of SGA president changes hands again, Shah is optimistic about the future, believing that both candidates running for president would be strong representatives of the student body.
With a year of experience behind her, when asked what SGA has meant to her, Shah struggled for an answer, stating, “I think that on April 22, when the turnover meeting happens, and I pass the gavel on, that is when it is going to hit me that student government is no longer a part of my life and I am not longer a part of student government. I think then I will probably know what to say.”
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