SGA loses ‘significant member’ in December

Senator Tyrie Fletcher reviews the SGA handbook. Fletcher, who will be graduating in December, has been an instrumental part of SGA, said Tammy Jacques.

SGA will be losing a valued member at the end of the semester as Tyrie Fletcher, the senate budget oversight committee chairman, graduates Dec. 13. 

“Tyrie has been a significant member in Senate and SGA as a whole,” said Tammy Jacques, director of Student Engagement and senate adviser. “He’s been instrumental in giving feedback to the Student Government Association.”

Fletcher, a political science major, has been part of SGA since fall 2009. He believes that, during the four and a half years of his membership, he will be most remembered for starting the budget oversight committee, he said.

“Before I had (the committee), it was called the student activity committee,” Fletcher said. “I took it, and I brought it back to SGA, and I restructured it, and I made Senate the appeal body. So, if an RSO wanted to appeal something that the budget oversight committee had ruled, then they can appeal it to the Senate.”

Fletcher feels strongly about his committee being fair and sticking to the policies, so he handpicked the committee members himself, he said.

“There’s no room for showing favoritism on this committee,” Fletcher said. “That’s one of the reasons why I made sure that I picked the people to serve on this committee, and so far they have done an outstanding job.”

In addition to starting the budget oversight committee, Fletcher has served SGA in several ways, Jacques said.

“He was instrumental even when he was doing budget oversight — he took on other tasks that were nonrelated to that,” Jacques said. “He created the May Day program that they did in the spring. He created the SGA Fall Festival that they did this past fall. He’s always taking initiative.”

Though he will be leaving soon, he wants to see SGA continue to grow, Fletcher said.

“We’ve made so much progress,” Fletcher said. “When I came in they were already on a fast track, but I think when I came in I had the opportunity to see them really excel under different leaderships. I really just hope that they continue to grow for the most part and just do what they know they are called to do, and I don’t think that’s going to be a problem at all.”

His fellow SGA members will miss Fletcher.

“I refuse to even admit that he’s graduating,” said SGA President Laura Giles. “He was never in it for the power or anything. He always had the students in mind. His contributions might not be the biggest or the most noticeable, but they’re always coming and you can always depend on him to do what he says that he’s going to do.”

SGA will not be the same without Fletcher, said Maurice Mull, the Freshman Forum adviser.

“Tyrie has just been kind of like a grandfather to everybody in SGA,” Mull said. “His wisdom and all of his leadership abilities (are) going to be gone, but I think he’s done a good job instilling it in the rest of us in SGA so we can pass that along to people who come through as well, and we can be the next Tyrie.” 

Though he is sad to leave, Fletcher will be leaving satisfied, he said.

“I am doubly satisfied with SGA, at least what I’ve done here on campus, because I’ve given it all that I have.” Fletcher said. “It’s been a great ride being here and working with SGA so I’m satisfied.”