Student Government Association and the Graduate Student Government Rebranding Ceremony

By Davaughnia Wilson | Published April 15, 2022

On April 4, the Student Government Association (SGA) and Graduate Student Government (GSG) hosted their rebranding ceremony where they introduced their new logo, spoke about some of their major accomplishments and also their commitment to donating $450,000 to scholarships for Kean students.

The event, held in the Miron Student Center (MSC) Atrium, featured the Executive Board of SGA, GSG, and Senators, as well as the unveiling of the new logos created by Freshman Class Senator, Joseph Abramson.

The ceremony highlighted SGA’s achievements this past year. SGA’s Executive Board President, Jason Pleitez, has committed his term to serving students at Kean in every way possible. He takes pride in the foundation that he has built within SGA and the changes that he has made to better accommodate and assist students.

In an effort to do this, Pleitez checked the SGA accounts and found that there was a substantially large amount of money in the reserves that were collected from student fees over a period of time. He decided that there was no better way to spend $450,000 than to spend it on scholarships for Kean students. This money will give scholarships to students annually.

“We have put $250,000 into President Repollets Future Scholarship fund, $100,000 into the Dr. Morgan Laury scholarship, as well as an additional $100,000 into our endowment funds to ensure that the current scholarships that we offer through SGA with the Kean Foundation proceed to support our students in the upcoming years,” Pleitez said.

The Vice President of SGA, Martha Julemis, and Pleitez met and decided where the money would be allocated and how it would be split. They brought their proposal to SGA’s executive board and the senate and it was ultimately decided on with the support of the Director of SGA, Stephanie Faser.

“I think the best thing about the scholarships is that that money will always exist because we put that into an endowment account,” Pleitez said.

In their efforts to be inclusive and hear the voices of all students, such as commuters, residents and those in need of scholarships, SGA added a new position to the Executive Board at the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester: The Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a position held by finance student Mehkia Baker.

The position served to enhance the quality of life of students at Kean and to alert SGA to all social justice issues concerning the campus and its community while working closely with the Office of Diversity Equity, and Inclusion.

Pleitez explained that one of the challenges that he faced as president is making SGA known to students at Kean. He stated that trying to represent every single student that goes to Kean is a huge challenge because he doesn’t know how they are affected if they don’t speak up.

He stated however that his office tries its best to involve every single person because everyone deserves a seat at the table.

“With our SGA Instagram account we’ve done our best to respond to students right because it can be a lot, but I think as long as we develop that personal connection with each student, that has helped us with combating that challenge,” Pleitez said.

Last October, the SGA executive board and Senate passed the official name change from Student Organization to the Student Government Association.

“The name change and rebranding gives us the opportunity to reintroduce ourselves today, to the campus community,” Pleitez said.

He added that the new name change was step one and the creation of a new logo was next on the agenda. SGA started the process of having a new logo in late October with a graphic designer. He explained that the result wasn’t what the SGA was looking for so they decided to have a contest to involve students at Kean and have them design the new logo for SGA and GSG.

Pleitez said that he is extremely proud of finally having a new logo. The winning submission aligned with SGA’s mission and its new image. Abramson’s logos for SGA and GSG were chosen to represent each respective governing body.

Pleitez encourages the 2022 – 2023 Executive Board President of SGA to take advantage of the work that he and his team created this past year and to build upon it, “for the next years president definitely trying to take it to another level for sure.”

After graduation, Pleitez will be getting his Master’s in Public Administration here at Kean and he will be working as a Graduate Assistant for President Repollet for the next two years. He decided that he will not join GSG, instead, he will focus on his studies and his future plans. 

He explained that he has been a part of student government since his freshman year and though he has enjoyed his time there, he believes it is time to move on and have someone else step up.

“Although there were many important decisions that shaped our term, we are excited for the upcoming elected board members and student leaders to continue and build upon the foundation that we are witnessing form today. Today’s celebration of not just the present but the future as well,” Pleitez said.

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