Last basketball season, a USF St. Petersburg bus to the game was vacant, except for a Student Government representative manning the bus and a Crow’s Nest photographer. On Saturday, Oct. 5, more than 20 students showed up to ride the bus to the football game. This time, a representative from SG failed to show.
Sophia Constantine, chair of the SG legislative affairs, was on campus before the bus left. Because her family was visiting her, she had not planned on going to the game. When she learned no one was there to man the buses, she felt she needed to step up and take responsibility.
“SG is supposed to be a team,” Constantine said.
The SG representative is responsible for assigning students to buses, informing students when to return to the buses and making sure students return to USFSP safely.
When Constantine arrived at the game, she ran around trying to find an ATM to tip the bus driver. Because she was not scheduled to coordinate the bus, she was unprepared.
“It put me in an uncomfortable position,” she said.
Prior to the situation, Constantine was concerned about how the process of assigning an SG representative to man the bus worked. She was advised to send an email to the entire SG governing body addressing her concerns. Then everyone in SG would be able to see the answer.
Before she could send the email, Constantine was involved in a serious car crash and decided to ask the question in SG’s general assembly meeting on Wednesday.
When she raised the question, she was told to ask about it that night at the SG Cornhole Tournament, which was being held in lieu of the weekly meeting. Because Constantine was required to attend another SG meeting during that time, she never received her answer.
According to Mark Lombardi-Nelson, student body president, members of the executive board typically serve as representatives on the bus. He said he has been the representative for most games.
“In recent games, myself and others have came into personal situations that led to miscommunication about who was available to be the rep on the buses,” he said, noting that this does not happen frequently.
Lombardi-Nelson said that one day prior to the events, SG will begin making a list of SG representatives able to coordinate the buses.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about getting to the game and having a good time,” Constantine said.
Constantine wants to make sure it is successful. She called the last game a “close call.” If she had not been there, the students might not have been able to go to the game. She said the homecoming football game is “one of those important memories” in college and wants to make sure the processes are certain for the game.
The next bus leaves for the homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 26.
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