By Jacob Abrahamson–
Carrie Mattingly, SGA Student Body President, delivered this year’s state of the student body address on April 15. The address, which took place before a small crowd in the University Club, focused on the accomplishments of this year’s student government.
“Serving as SGA President has been both the greatest honor and the most valuable learning experience of my career as a student at the University of Louisville,” stated Mattingly, saying that the end of her term is “bittersweet.”
Mattingly stated that she began her term as President by revising the 2020 Plan in order to provide a “road map to accomplish student-friendly initiatives through 2020.”
After thanking those who worked with her over the past year, she discussed accomplishments including the opening of the Student Recreation Center. Mattingly thanked the students and administration for their role in the development of the SRC.
“Because they thought big, we now play host to the most state of the art recreational facility in Kentucky,” said Mattingly. “More and more students will get involved outside of the classroom as we continue to invest in infrastructure to benefit student life at the University of Louisville.” The SRC has an average of 2,000 swipes per day and 108 intramural basketball teams in its first six months on campus.
She also expressed pride in accomplishing the “number one goal:” the approved renovation of the old SAC gym. The renovated product will include meeting rooms and a convocation space which will seat 1,700 people. She says the renovation will allow big events, such as orientation and Greek recruitment, to remain on campus.
Mattingly also applauded increased student advocacy and involvement, including the Cards in Action program, which lobbied against statewide budget cuts to higher education, and the student committee on the University of the 21st Century Initiative.
Two executive SGA members received applause for their work. Grant Ford helped expand the 24-hour section of Ekstrom Library, while Morgan Jenny worked to create the taxi service coming to campus in 2015.
“We had the goal of expanding 24-hour space in Ekstrom Library to accommodate a larger off-campus population,” said Mattingly, encouraging students to advocate for the inclusion of a student library fee in next year’s budget.
Mattingly expressed excitement for U of L’s entry into the ACC, as well as hope for SGA’s future.
“The official Year of the Cardinal may have come to an end, but there is still so much to look forward to at U of L.”
