The celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Student Government Association in 2016 is expected to be big. 

An official date hasn’t been picked yet, so it remains unclear whether or not the anniversary will be celebrated in the fall or spring semester. 

“Officially, the 50th anniversary of SGA will be next semester in 2016,” said SGA President Jay Todd Richey. “It’s still in the works right now, but there have been ideas tossed around about maybe having a gala.” 

Richey said another possibility is inviting alumni, current students and previous SGA members to WKU to see improvements such as Downing Student Union that WKU has made in past years.

“We’re trying to think of if we can merge it with elections next fall, or is that too late,” said Richey. 

This will probably be a more formal event. 

“It’s really in the idea phase. We don’t want it to be talk … where the SGA leadership and executive says, ‘Here is what we’re going to do.’ We’re going to make it open-ended for all SGA members and any students that want to participate,” said Richey. 

SGA last celebrated its achievements in 2006 for its 40th anniversary. 

According to WKU Libraries Blog, “The Student Advisory Council of 1956 was the first incarnation of WKU’s Student Government Association. A constitution was written in 1963 and a student council was active in February and March 1965.” 

SGA has been active on WKU’s campus since 1966. It tries to make a big difference on campus for students and to be the students’ voice.

SGA has seen its share of resolutions and fundings both passed and not passed. 

On Sept. 14, 1976, SGA passed a resolution for school to be cancelled on Nov. 1 to vote on the election holiday on Nov. 2. WKU’s president at the time, Dero Downing, disagreed, which led students to a boycott endorsement for the university on Nov. 1.

On the other hand, on Nov. 1, 2011, the SGA senate did not pass R04-11-F, a resolution that supported the name change from Downing University Center to Downing Student Union during the building’s renovation. Keyana Boka was the author of this resolution. 

Richey said he wants to make this anniversary one to remember for years to come.