USG
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USG -
WHAT IS USG?
The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at Stony Brook University is a governing body that represents the interests and concerns of the Undergraduate Student Body at Stony Brook University.
USG
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USG -
USG’s most notable function is to fund clubs and organizations whose membership is open to all members of the Undergraduate Student Body, and are led by members of said body.
In addition, USG maintains the Student Activities Board, which organizes concerts and other large-scale events on campus. Additional agencies of USG include Elections Board, Audio/Visual Board, Events Management, and the Probationary Budget Council.
USG’s primary source of funding is the mandatory Student Activity Fee, paid by all full-time members of the Undergraduate Student Body at Stony Brook University, providing for an annual budget of approximately $3 million.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Student Government has a long history at Stony Brook University. In 1959, the Student Polity Association (SPA) was established in Oyster Bay, Long Island. In 2003, the SPA was succeeded by the USG which is the current student government of Stony Brook University.
Although the Senate and Executive Council were completely restructured, the newly established USG was very similar to the decertified Polity in many ways. All Polity Agencies were carried over, and club funding remained the same. USG was located in the same office with many of the same people and employees. The Student Activities Board was left unchanged, structured much like a club with a general body, and a fraction of the size it was decades ago when Stony Brook was known as a frequent concert venue.
Recent years have brought various plans to reform the USG, motivated by the state of the Constitution and other documentation left over from Polity days. In many cases, documents had been left unchanged except for the replacement of “Polity” with “USG”.
The culmination of the reform years was the 2010-2011 Academic year. In this year, the reformed Student Activities Board led the way in Event Programming, hosting popular artists, comedians, and lectures to sell out crowds. The historic Stony Brook Concert Series was revitalized under the direction of the Student Activities Board. The Agency coordinated and marketed the new series that featured surf-rock band Best Coast, comedian Aziz Ansari, underground hip hop artist Immortal Technique, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. The end of the year concert featured pop artists Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae, Plan B, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, and Kanye West.
