Our Platform
Info about the platform goes here — what it does, who it's for, and why it matters. Keep this section focused on the single most important thing a visitor should understand about the platform before they scroll further.
Affordability
- Work with university administration to implement a systemwide tuition freeze for students based on their class year
- Set up master list of scholarship and internship opportunities
- Expanding access to university resources for students looking for off-campus housing
- Compensation for students who experience severe utility issues throughout the year
- Increase funding towards the pilot Metrocard program that began implementation last year
- Advocate for UMD's participation in the Metro U-Pass college student program
- Expand on Transportation Services food drive for parking citation reduction
- Continue free printing during exam weeks initiative
- Put textbook costs on Testudo before classes start
- Work with faculty to adopt more open educational resources
- Continue initiative to restore the Maryland Food Co-op, or assist liaisons in establishing a College Park Co-op
- Work to increase funding for the Campus Pantry
Representation
- Restore relations with RHA, GSG
- Take advantage of largely unused avenues for change (MGA, B1G support, College Park City Council)
- De-polarize SGA culture
- Expedite smaller, overly bureaucratic processes to allow for focus on bigger issues
- Amend election rules to allow for broader advertisement during passive campaigning
- Apply individual sanctions for individual election violations
- Set aside a fund to provide money to campaigns running in elections
- Have election administrators elected by outgoing legislature
- Committee to discuss popular vote of justices
- Allow students to add laws and amend the SGA Constitution by petitioning for referenda
- Semesterly/yearly summit with admin to openly publish a list of commitments
- Cultural Specialized Committee with representatives from cultural orgs to ensure representation from communities
Transparency
- Create videos and infographics to help students get involved in SGA, including those interested in running for office
- Have Elections Commission publicize eligible tickets further before active campaigning begins
- Redesign SGA website entirely, to make it easier for students to understand the role and operations of the organization
- Release student surveys for big decisions for public feedback
- During elections, suggest professors advertise the elections to their students and encourage them to vote
- Work to expand Terrapins Connect, our platform that connects students with alumni for mentoring and professional opportunities
- Work towards higher civic engagement in SGA elections
- Maintain ReviveUMD platform on a website, with intermittent progress reports on each platform initiative
- Publicize the full results of the Spring 2026 election
Funding Reform
- Create a Quick Grant Fund for small, time-sensitive expenses
- Allow quicker funding requests for the beginnings of semesters
- Create a dedicated funding pool for student organizations
- Revitalize social media and outreach efforts to student organizations
- Revitalize the COFA website to include video tutorials to improve accessibility
- Ease regulations towards allowing student organizations to request SGA funding for food even when not listed in the mission statement
- Food money can be spent outside of Stamp locations
- Increase the miscellaneous spending cap for clubs
- Allow funding to go towards paying for gas and parking
- Streamline E-Calendar, and have it include more information on rooms prior to booking
- Introduce a consulting group for student orgs when funding request not wholly fulfilled
Campus Safety
- Establish UMD as a Sanctuary Campus
- Establish a know your rights education campaign
- Expand the Student Legal Aid center to protect and advocate for immigrant students
- Restore immigrant student resources page to the UMD website, and archive it on the SGA website
- Work with PG Immigrant Rights Collective and immigrant student groups
- Ensure timely admin-student communication and overall admin transparency (see: McKeldin lice incident)
- Work with liaisons to have a rapid response system for power and heat outages
- Improve police alert timeliness, to allow for community to prepare or respond when necessary
- Expand sexual misconduct prevention efforts
- Push for trained response team to respond to mental health crises, rather than UMPD
- Allow 2 unexcused absences per class per semester, instead of 1T (pg. 13 for Pines’ memo)
- More lenient grief absence policy modeled after University of Illinois Urbana
- Continue accessibility walk, safety walk; push for improvements upon seeing results
- Expand on access to free feminine hygiene products campuswide
- Continue advocating for the Graduate Labor Union
- Increase timeliness in grade updates before Add/Drop deadline
- Provide access to drink testers and covers, and promote their usage
- Promote safety resources at neighborhood bars
City/State Policy
- Work with admin, city, and/or businesses to offer student discounts at local businesses
- Housing policy w/city, state (rent control, realpage out, right to first refusal, maintain Early Lease Ordinance)
- Increase pro-student lobbying efforts to the state legislature
- Protection from Flock Safety, AI Cameras
- Transparency of investments and pushing for divestment from problematic companies
- Further support for GLU, both on campus and lobbying in Annapolis
- Work with MGA on legislation that did not pass in previous legislative sessions
- Shuttle to polling locations that offer early voting in addition to having STAMP as a voting location
- Expand relationship between former/current MGA interns and the SGA Governmental Affairs Committee to increase lobbying effectiveness
Dining
- Work to allow student suggestions for new menu items
- “Lunch with the director” meetings to improve communication
- Advocate for meal swipe donation, dining dollar donation ability
- Working to keep either the Y or South open slightly later, with reduced capacity
- Allow students to take out food when inclement weather is expected, and during religious holidays
- Expand on Kosher and Halal options at dining halls
