Student Government’s pumpkin smashing event is returning in 2023, this time as part of a larger event on campus.
Student Government will be hosting the first annual Student Government Expo to showcase the workings of Student Government to the student body while providing food, games, hot chocolate, displays and the return of pumpkin smashing.
The event will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday on the Curtiss Hall lawn.
One goal of the expo, according to Student Body Vice President Quinn Margrett, is to explain what the organization does in a more casual manner than students may find in places such as the Senate meetings.
Student Body President Jennifer Holliday said the more the organization can meet with the students, the better suited they are to allocate resources to things the students need or want.
“Students pay money every semester to Student Government, so by interacting with us, learning more of what we are about, what we do, they are making better use of the money they are spending,” Holliday said.
Student Government has smaller committees inside of it, and what they do can go unseen by students at times, Margrett said. The judicial branch and election commission are two of the groups students can learn about at the expo.
“Highlight not only what our committees do, but what other branches of Student Government does,” Margrett said.
The event is one way members of Student Government are pursuing outreach to the student body.
“Historically, Student Government hasn’t done that great a job of doing outreach, we’ve been kind of isolated from students,” Margrett said. “If we can improve our outreach, and we can become more familiar with the needs of students, it makes us a much more effective government as well, much more representative.”
Margrett said a goal of this event is for it not to be a one-time thing but to develop into an annual event. With success during the trial, Margrett said the event could potentially move to August, serving as a chance for students to learn about the organization early in the year.
