College & SGA Standing Committees

The SGA has members on almost every college committee and council, to make sure that the student body's voice is heard. These committees are open to any current student at Houghton College and are elected annually at the first few meetings of the Senate. The SGA also has several committees of its own. All of the committees are shown below with their respective student members.
You can hover over committees for details:

1. How many students can be members and any specific requirements for them.
2. Basic description of the committee's purpose and what is done on it
3. Regular meeting times; otherwise meetings are held only when needed.

Academic Council

Senator Sarah Jacoby
President Garrett Fitzsimmons

2 students; represent two academic depts. by major.
Oversee curricular offerings, scheduling, calendar

Advancement Council

Senator Gabe Browning
Ms. Jennilee Fletcher

2 students.
Work with Adv. office on marketing materials, ideas, policies.

Enrollment Management Council

Senator Sarah Wangai
VP Theodore Janney

2 students.
Review enrollment statistics and deal with policies.

Financial Advisory Council

Jaime Donnan, Comm. of Finance, ex officio
Senator Rebekah Howard

1 student+Commissioner.
Oversee student group budgets.

Student Life Council (SLC)

Garrett Fitzsimmons, President, ex officio
Senator Hannah Vardy
Senator Ben Hardy

1m, 1f student+President.
Work with SL office in policies and ideas for SL.

Comm. on Harassment Policy and Prevention (CHPP)*

Senator Bill Clunn
Senator Hannah Vardy
Ms. Megan Specksgoor

3 students; m/f.
Annually review policies, procedures, to recommend improvements. Provide training.

Investigative Team for Sexual Harassment Complaints*

Alex Brown
John French
Emily Rinehart
Hannah Vardy
Theodore Janney
Brian Lustig

3m, 3f.
In teams of 3, investigate cases of sexual harassment with oversight from harassment officer.

Comm. on Opportunity, Equality, and Diversity(COED)*

Joshua Mertzlufft, Vice President, ex officio
Mitchell Galusha

1 student+VP.
Suggest, implement policies, programs to encourage diversity and foster Christian unity.

Advisory Comm. on Campus Security*

Joel Ernst
Sarah Fernald

1m, 1f student. At least 2 of each must run.
Review campus security issues.

Computer Policy and Planning Committee*

Bill Dietrick
Andra Cook

2 students.
Oversee computer policy on personal and public computers, network, webpages, software, and services.

Admission Committee*

Alex Brown

1 senior.
Considers students for admission to HC. Review policies.

Student Conduct Committee

Chris Clark
Jehoshaphat Reich
Kate Luger
Jenn Freeman

4 students: m/f; up to 2 seniors; 1 must have served prior year.
Conduct hearings on student misconduct. Serve as appeals board. Recommend policy changes.

Lectureship Committee*

Alice Browning
Spencer Adams

2 students.
Work with Dean of the Chapel's office in deciding speakers for Chapel, lectures.

Committee on Spiritual Life (CSL)*

Bethany Cheney, Chaplain, ex officio
Brian Lustig
Alice Browning
Laura Leigh French

3 students+Chaplain; 1 voting, 2 non-voting.
Promote, coordinate spiritual life, growth through programs. Work w/local church, student orgs incl. training.
Scheduled meetings monthly.

Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics (CIA)

Ian Gates
Andi Sidell

2 students; 1 f; 1 not an athlete.
Supervise, recommend policy changes. Set IM/Club policies.

Student Emergency Fund Committee*

Will Evans
TBD

2 students.
Decide how to use Student Emergency Funds, in cases such as transporting students home in family emergencies.

College Advisory Committee*

TBD

1 student.

Assessment Committee*

Benjamin Hardy

1 student.
Conducts surveys about student life and college policy; Prepares reports for accrediting agencies; Reviews yearly dept. evaluations; Recommends changes where necessary.

Creation Care Committee*

Colleen White
Olivia Butz

2 students.
Review policies on Creaton Care.

Finance Committee

Andi Sidell
Rebekah Howard

2 students.
Meet with VP of Finance's office; review with policies.

Committee on Finance

Jehoshaphat Reich
Katie Schutte

2 students.
Assist Commissioner of Finance.

Current Student Representatives: You can obtain a copy of the Committee Report Form here.

SGA Committees

SAAC

The Student Activity Advisory Council is chaired by the SGA Vice President. The function of this Council is to serve as oversight for CAB (Campus Activities Board), the homecoming committee, and the spring semester committee (i.e. Purple & Gold or Winter Weekend). The council consists of the following voting members:

SAAC

Theodore Janney, SGA Vice President, Chair
Jaime Donnan, SGA Commissioner of Finance
Greg Bish, Director of Student Programs
TBD, Student at Large
TBD, Faculty member

and the following non-voting members:

Jocelyn Matuszkiewicz, CAB Director
CAB Assistant Director
Sarah Wangai/Derek Schwabe, Senator
Homecoming co-chairs (for the duration of the committee)
Purple & Gold co-chairs (for the duration of the committee)

COSO

The Committee on Student Organizations is chaired by the SGA Vice President, and is responsible for the oversight and maintaining of student clubs. Some of these tasks include reviewing club constitutions, helping new clubs, organizing monthly club reports, and maintaining a list of clubs eligible for CEF and CLF funding.

COSO

Theodore Janney, SGA Vice President, Chair
Gordon Brown, Senator
Joel Ernst, Senator
Hannah Hannover, Student at large
Greg Bish, Director of Student Programs

Constitution Council

The Constitution Council is chaired by the SGA President, and is responsible for making recommendations for any necessary changes to the SGA constitution and its bylaws. The Council is responsible for settling disputes concerning the interpretation of the SGA constitution and its bylaws. The council is also responsible, in conjunction with the Office of Student Life, for settling disputes between the SGA constitution and bylaws and any class or organization constitution or bylaws.

The Constitution Council

Garrett Fitzsimmons, SGA President, Chair
Joshua Mertzlufft, SGA Speaker of the Senate
Theodore Janney, SGA Vice President
TBD, Senator
TBD, Student at Large

SPF Committee

The Student Project Fund Committee is chaired by the SGA President, and has the ability to deny or approve any project proposal that is presented before it on the basis of feasibility. If a proposal is approved, the committee must work out the logistics and present a further detailed proposal to the Senate as a recommendation for final approval.

The SPF Committee

Garrett Fitzsimmons, SGA President, Chair
Alice Browning, Senior Class President
Megan Toombs, Junior Class President
Rebekah Howard, Sophomore Class President
TBD, Freshmen Class President
Sharra Hynes, VP for Student Life
Efrain Rivera, VP for Finance
Greg Bish, Director of Student Programs

Advisory Committees

The SGA has two committees designed to take an active role in advising their respective areas of the college on student opinions and concerns. These committees are:

Food Services Advisory

Nora Kahler
Robert Martin

Student Health Advisory Committee
(SHAC)