OBU students make a splash at OSGA

“OSGA is Oklahoma Student Government Association. Essentially students from SGA’s across the state of Oklahoma come together at the Capital and write legislation that affects every collegiate school in the State of Oklahoma. Legislation that is written and passed at OSGA goes to the Oklahoma Board of Higher Education and Oklahoma Board of Regents for consideration of implementation statewide,” Jaiden Balthrop, a student who participated in OSGA, said.

Earlier this semester, four students from Oklahoma Baptist Univeristy’s (OBU), some who are a part of the Student Government Association (SGA), went to the Capitol to represent OBU at OSGA. Grace Minter, Peyton Byrd, Arielle Quartuccio, Dakota Jones and Jaiden Balthrope went to present legislation and make change.

“OSGA allows for college students to have a say in state legislation and create new guidelines for colleges to follow. It is a great way to keep colleges in the know of what students want,” Balthrope said. OSGA is an opportunity for students to grow their skills, but it is also a space for students to learn about what other colleges are facing on their respective campuses.

“I wanted to see the broader spectrum of our influence as college students on the state level. I also wanted to participate and find out what issues other colleges are facing, how they handle them, and what we can apply here at OBU,” Balthrope said. Balthrope used this opportunity to bring forward legislation meant to help her fellow students across the state of Oklahoma.

“I presented SP22-021 (A Resolution calling upon the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Oklahoma State Government to require Higher Education Bodies to provide a means of access to menstrual products.) and SP22-031 (this number could be off but, Resolution calling upon the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the Oklahoma State Government to require Higher Education Bodies to mandate food and clothing pantries on all college campuses),” Balthrope said. Both of Balthrope’s resolutions passed, and she learned more than just how to better herself as a student leader.

“I learned that students truly have more say than they believe. The means of access to influence on a state level are there, it is just a matter of participation. Our words have value and we need to allow people to hear them,” Balthrope said. This experience was meant to give students a voice, and the OBU representatives' voices were heard. If you are interested in learning more about OSGA, reach out to sga@okbu.edu or reach out to grace.minter@okbu.edu.