Welcome to SGA

Meet some of the new SGA senators.

Morgan Taylor

Graduate Student Senator

Morgan Taylor is new to the SGA at DePaul and to the university. She is a first year graduate student studying for her masters in public administration and will be representing the graduate and law student body.

Taylor, who is originally from Los Angeles, earned her bachelor's degree in political science in South Carolina at Benedict College.

Being that Taylor is a new student, inclusion of graduate students with the larger undergraduate class was an important issue for her. The first step began during her campaign.  She created a twitter account, @WEcountTOODPU, not only for promotion throughout the election, but to exemplify exactly how she plans to communicate with other students.

"It's a position that requires work and communication, so I'm willing to go out of my comfort zone to do that," said Taylor. She plans to network with organizations and student leaders already on campus and build a bridge of communication.

She hopes to create opportunities for students to network and meet people from all schools and levels of education through summits, volunteer opportunities, retreats, and even socials.

"I am very excited about my newly elected position," said Taylor. "I will be smiling all day."

Erin Baynes

Transfer Student Senator

Erin Baynes is a senior majoring in public policy with a focus on urban studies.  Before coming to DePaul, Baynes transferred schools twice.

She is well equipped to handle problems other transfer students may have considering her experience in the area. "Being a transfer student myself, I am very passionate about the challenges and opportunites transfer students come across in their DePaul adventure."

First and foremost, Baynes plans to explore the current identity of the DePaul transfer student.  Transfer students at DePaul represent such a wide variety of students and Baynes wants to find out how that diversity best succeeds in the DePaul community.

One issue she concentrated on in her campaign was academic advising.  Transfer students experience difficulty when trying to transfer credit to a quarter system.

Actions she plans to take include, offering more thorough listings of course equivalents between Depaul and community colleges, schedule more community college campus visits by DePaul University representatives familiar with the transfer student experience, and more.

Baynes is extraordinarily excited about her new position. She will celebrate her win like any good politician would.  Baynes stopped at Chipotle and ordered a burrito bowl—with guacamole. "It's a special occasion," she said.

Baynes is somewhat of a health and beauty expert. Check out her blog.

Matthew von Nida

First Year Student Senator

Matthew von Nida, a freshman double majoring in political science and international studies, is from St. Louis but already feels at home in Chicago.

Von Nida was largely involved in his high school's student government. He plans to continue his dedication to community service at DePaul University.

"I see myself as an environmentalist, and I think our generation follows that trend," said von Nida.  Issues concerning von Nida are environmental awareness and student involvement.

Von Nida's plans to make DePaul a greener campus include working to increase the availability of cigarette receptacles around campus, stopping the use of Styrofoam bowls plates and containers in the Student Center and replacing them with reusable ones, and creating a double sided printing system accessible to students.

"Simply promoting a greener life, as well as recycling the recyclable items could improve our University greatly," said von Nida. He hopes throughout his term to see more student interaction and involvement on campus.