Back to School: Registration campaign, leadership conference on UOSA's agenda

UOSA will bring back a campuswide push to get Sooners registered to vote in time for the November elections, student leaders said.

UOSA President Joe Sangirardi and Vice President Rainey Sewell said they are excited because those kinds of events don’t come around every year.

OU also will host the Big 12 Student Government Conference this fall.

Despite the different things happening on campus this year, Sangirardi said he thinks some people don’t realize how big an impact UOSA has at the university.

The organization allocates more than $800,000 per year to more than 400 student organizations, he said.

UOSA also has an impact on the students involved in it, Sangirardi said. This summer, Sangirardi’s involvement with UOSA had him attending conferences in Moscow and in Washington, D.C.

Sewell said UOSA also has played a key role during her Sooner journey.

“I can’t tell you what all I’ve learned in the classroom necessarily, but all the relations I’ve built with UOSA are lifelong,” Sewell said. “This is what I’ll remember from college.”

UOSA isn’t just for upperclassmen either; Sangirardi got involved almost immediately after getting to campus his freshman year, he said.

“I put my name on a list at Camp Crimson, and within the first two weeks of school, I met the student body president, and she told me to apply for executive cabinet,” Sangirardi said.

For freshmen looking to jump right in and involved on campus, UOSA created the Sooner Freshman Council.

“[It] is an opportunity for a select group of freshmen to get a holistic sense of how our student government operates,” Sangirardi said. “They will be able to figure out where they belong, and they will have the tools to succeed in whatever path they choose.”

Applications for Sooner Freshman Council will be available this fall on UOSA’s website.

The freshman council isn’t the only way for new students to get plugged in with UOSA, Sewell said. Student Congress is another avenue for involvement.

“They can join as an associate member and run in the November elections for a seat in University College,” she said.

Sangirardi and Sewell said new Sooners should be bold and make the university their new home.

“Change is the one thing that is guaranteed in college, so you may as well embrace it,” Sangirardi said.

Nathan Robertson

Nathan is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Campus Reporter.