College of General Studies Student Government working to increase its visibility

Pitt’s College of General Studies offers diverse academic paths and houses undergraduate students from many fields, majors and backgrounds, including a large population of nontraditional students. 

“CGS is home to the largest number, by a landslide, of nontraditional students,” CGS Student Government President Skyler Cheevers, an administration of justice major, said. “These are students who fit all or some of the following criteria: over the age of 24, work full time, can only take night or online classes, have families, et cetera.” 

The CGS Student Government is “uniquely responsible for catering to those on nontraditional academic paths,” according to Ashawnti Buckner, a health services major and business manager of CGSSG. The organization holds meetings once a week at Thackeray Hall where members discuss upcoming events and committee chairs provide overviews of what they have worked on. 

“We have three committees within CGSSG and are members of several institutional and faculty committees,” Cheevers said. 

CGSSG committees include judicial affairs, allocations and event planning and outreach. In addition to the three standing committees, Cheevers said members of CGSSG serve on many institutional committees, including Senate Council, the Board of Trustees and the provost search committee. 

“Overall, CGSSG’s goal is to serve the students. Throughout the past five months, we have hosted fun, leisure events that students can attend to escape the stresses of their everyday lives,” Cheevers said.

Some events CGSSG held in the fall semester include a Welcome Back Barbeque, a “College: Expectations vs. Reality” event and a winter movie night.

“CGSSG acts as a voice for students in the College of General Studies,” Buckner said. “We have the responsibility to advocate for [nontraditional] students who have to work to support themselves [while] pursuing their second bachelor’s degree, amongst many other things.” 

Isabelle O’Hara, a media and professional communications major and engagement chair of CGSSG, detailed some of CGSSG’s responsibilities and how they differ from Student Government Board, which represents students in the other schools at Pitt. 

“We are very similar to SGB in terms of we do have a budget that we use to benefit students such as events and speakers,” O’Hara said. “But we use those resources for events that are designed for CGS students rather than the whole student body.” 

Cheevers said because SGB represents all the schools within the University other than CGS, they have a much wider budget as they receive all of the student activity fees. 

“They have more responsibilities because they are catering to a much wider audience,” Cheevers said. 

Buckner explained why she believes CGS is the only school at Pitt to have a distinct student government. 

“CGS is just unique,” Buckner said. “There may be a lack of attention and opportunity [from the university] for the degree programs in our school. Unlike engineering, business, nursing, et cetera.” 

O’Hara said the event she is excited about this semester is a logo redesign contest. 

“We want to give CGS students a chance to show off their creativity,” O’Hara said. “I think it’s such a fun way to include our students and a great opportunity for them to create something that will be around for years to come.” 

Buckner explained CGSSG’s goal for the semester, which includes “garnering support for CGS’s underserved population.” 

“CGSSG’s goal is to increase our visibility across campus. We have worked diligently to increase the school’s presence in the Plan for Pitt,” Buckner said. “We try to shine a light on [nontraditional students] in hopes every student has inclusive experiences at the University.” 

Cheevers elaborated on CGSSG’s goal for this semester and detailed some planned events, including self-defense lessons, a silent disco and a senior send-off. 

“Outside of event planning, we are working on revising our current constitution to construct a concrete definition of a ‘nontraditional student,’” Cheevers said. “[We are] beginning conversations regarding our upcoming elections process and are looking forward to our upcoming meeting with the chancellor regarding how CGS fits in the Plan for Pitt.” 

Finally, the board detailed their election process which is coming up in march. 

“We are aiming to elect from within CGSSG for our major positions like president, vice president and business manager,” Cheevers said. “This is because current members will already have an idea of how CGSSG runs, so the onboarding and transition process will be much smoother.” 

O’Hara highlighted the “seamless” nature of her own election process. 

“The process was super simple when I got elected, so I encourage any CGS student to apply,” O’Hara said. “I have loved collaborating and getting to know my fellow board members. I’m so happy I took this chance and am able to represent other CGS students.”