Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't we "fix" parking?
Why don't we have a parking deck?
What are all the flat screen TVs for?
Why don't we have a football team?
Why don't we have more men's athletic teams?
Why is registration at 5 a.m.?
What is being done about recycling on campus?
How can I get money from SGA for my RSO?
How are senators selected, and what is the Student Senate?
Does SGA represent the Graduate Students, Macon Center, and Warner Robins?

Why don't we "fix" parking? [top]
The City of Milledgeville controls the parking immediately around main campus and on many of the side streets in the city. The University has no control over how these areas are enforced, what penalties they charge, or what policies they put into place to control these.  SGA is working closely with the President's Office to create a Student City Relations Committee to help create, maintain and promote student leadership and outreach efforts with the Milledgeville Community. The committee will work to ensure that the Georgia College student's voice is heard at the City Council of Milledgeville on a continual basis.

In addition to the new committee and improving city relations, the City of Milledgeville is working with University Officials in on a parking study and the results thereof for the city to determine how the spaces can be more effectively utilized. This study began in September 2009.

There is an underutilization of certain commuter and perimeter parking lots primarily in the commuter lot by Centennial Center and the perimeter Irwin Street lot. Although these lots are not as close as certain areas on Hancock Street, they remain within walking distance to main campus. Both of these lots have shuttle access and there are no standard limitations on the duration of your parking.

At West Campus during intramural season there is a need for additional parking.  Along with the implantation of the Wellness, plans to add additional parking to accommodate the increase as a result of this facility and the need proven by our intramural sports are being developed.

Why don't we have a parking deck? [top]
Georgia College lacks appropriate sites in close proximity to the Central Campus for building a deck. This was explored about four years ago by outside experts, who also concluded that the university had a sufficient number of parking spaces with underutilization of the lots farthest away from the Central Campus. If the university were to build a parking deck in the future, it would most likely be in partnership with the city or county and be funded through the fees of patron who elected to use the facility.

What are all the flat screen TVs for? [top]
The Flat Screen TVs that you see around campus are called Bobcat Vision and were paid for by student activity fees.  The TVs are utilized to communicate important academic and social information to the campus community. The general principle is to reduce the amount of paper waste through the decreased use of fliers while at the same time creating a more professional and streamlined way of getting information out to the campus.  The Department of Campus life manages Bobcat Vision.

Why don't we have a football team? [top]
The cost is simply too high.  Take a look at what all the school would have to do just to start up the program.  Installing a practice field and stadium (rental, purchase, or new construction); construction of an athletic field house with lockers, training rooms, offices, and equipment storage; hire coaches and training staff; fund football scholarships, the list goes on.  What's more are the continuing expenses, which Dr. Leland predicts that for a Division II football program would add $2 million or more in expenses each year to the athletics budget and possibly more depending on travel expenses.  All of  which would have to be paid through student fees, which would inevitably continue to escalate each year due to inflationary factors and cost of scholarships.  Unfortunately, the market is already pretty crowded.  With the University of Georgia's Bulldogs, Georgia State's new program, and the competition for fans in a small community who already support the junior college football at Georgia Military College, it will certainly be tough to get the big support that the program will need to be a success.

Secondly, the legality of implementing a football program plays a factor.  Federal "Title IX" legislation calls for colleges and universities to make consistent progress on moving toward a position of gender equality in regard to athletic teams, spending, and participation.  At time of the legislation, GCSU was 60% female and overwhelmingly male-oriented in athletics.  Since then, great strides have been made towards equality, but teams, spending, and participation is not yet 60% female.  The addition of a football program would certainly not be a step in the right direction in terms of compliance with "Title IX".

Finally, a football team is not necessary in line with the University's mission.  It's certainly not against it by any means but as Dr. Paul Jahr put it, "A football team would be nice to have, but the question is at what cost?"  There are plenty of other things that $2 million a year could do for the students, such as a state of the art recreational facility, more bandwidth to increase the speed of Internet access and downloads, and more convenient parking and shuttle service to just list a few of the many projects that are in the foreseeable GCSU future.

So what will it take for GCSU to get a football program?  A substantial amount of capital money to start the program, which ranges in the millions, to get everything set up.  Most likely from a very generous donor or organization, and followed by continued funding to avoid those costly student fees that would have to be imposed otherwise.  Additionally, the school would either have to step up the amount of women's teams and funding substantially or as Rutgers's did, cut some programs all together.  When Rutgers's decided to put more money into one section of their athletic program in order to comply with Title IX, they had to drop five men's sports with 87 student-athletes; this would be the same thing that would have to happen at GCSU.  Finally, assuming that all of the other pieces were to fall in place there would have to be a big student push for a team.

Why don't we have more men's athletic teams? [top]
Federal "Title IX" legislation calls for colleges and universities to make consistent progress on moving toward a position of gender equality in regard to athletic teams, spending, and participation.  At time of the legislation, GCSU was 60% female and overwhelmingly male-oriented in athletics.  Since then, great strides have been made towards equality, but teams, spending, and participation is not yet 60% female.  The addition of a men's program would not be a step in the right direction in terms of compliance with "Title IX".

Why is registration at 5 a.m.? [top]
First and foremost there are logistical reasons for this time.  GCSU's Information Technology department (IT) has staff on hand at 5 a.m. to monitor the process, there is relatively low traffic on the University's servers which allow for the sudden jump in bandwidth traffic once students begin the registration process, and most importantly there are no classes during this time allowing all students an equal opportunity to register.  Early registration is also a campus tradition that builds unity and provides significant bonding opportunities for students who have to go through this process together.

What is being done about recycling on campus? [top]
There is a severe lack of recycling on campus at this time; campus leaders are aware of this issue.  Being in a rural setting such as Milledgeville and Baldwin County we face different obstacles than many of our larger counterparts.  At GCSU the issue is not that we don't want or can't get recycling bins around campus, but rather what to do with it after we have all the recyclables. 

As you might have noticed the recycling center on your way to West Campus has reduced its hours and services due to a change in Baldwin County's trash and recycling services that are affecting not only the Students at GCSU but also Milledgeville residents.

Nevertheless, the University is working to address this issue and make a more environmentally friendly campus that goes beyond just recycling and taps into landscape, transportation, buildings and more.  The Campus Sustainability Council is a council that was formed out of the President's office and crosses department lines as a single group to make GCSU green.  You can learn more about this council and even get involved at green.gcsu.edu or by contacting Dr. Doug Oetter.

SGA will continue to be working to address, specifically, recycling on campus.  Whereas the Campus Sustainability Council will work to make a green campus and tackle all sorts of issues, we have formed an ad-hoc committee of senators through our Campus Issues Committee to make recycling on campus a reality.

How can I get money from SGA for my RSO? [top]
Money can be given to any RSO through Bills.  Bills are documents passed through the Student Senate to allocate funds to approved Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) usually for special events, travel, or one time purchases.  If your RSO would like to request an allocation of funds through SGA please contact your senator or complete the Application for Student Senate Bill (PDF) to start the process.  Please be aware that the legislative process will take a minimum of two full weeks, allow adequate time for such before the funds are needed.

How are senators selected, and what is the Student Senate? [top]
The Student Senate is comprised of twenty-five elected senators with five senators from each class and five at-large each year.  Elections for the senators are held annually early in the fall semester and executive elections for four of the six executives are held during homecoming along with the Mr. and Ms. GCSU elections.  Both of these elections are held online under the student tab of myCATS, the official communication device of the university, and are open for all enrolled students to vote.  The final two executives are either appointed or elected internally in SGA.  The qualifications to become a senator are to be an enrolled student, have at least a 2.3 GPA and be in good judicial and academic standing.  You can learn more on our website at sga.gcsu.edu.

Does SGA represent the Graduate Students, Macon Center, and Warner Robins? [top]
Yes, SGA acts as the voice of all students enrolled at Georgia College & State University at all locations and levels.