Q&A with the New PSGA Chair of Senate, Sophia Pallozzi

By: Summer Tyler

Sophia Pallozzi, a sophomore journalism major, is the new chair of senate for the PSGA (Purchase Student Government Association) (Photo by Natalie Tulloch)

To start off the spring semester, the Purchase Student Government Association (PSGA) welcomed their new Chair of Senate, sophomore Sophia Pallozzi. She is from Albany and is a sophomore journalism major. Pallozzi has always had a love for writing and was inspired to study journalism by watching the news and being fascinated by broadcast journalism. She was inspired to pursue writing by growing up next to News 10 ABC, seeing the news anchor on T.V., and receiving encouragement from her family.

How did you hear about the PSGA? What is their goal?

I heard about the PSGA when I was a freshman. My peer advisor who I met in my freshman seminar was Aliya Bashir, the previous Chair of Senate. When I joined my sophomore year, she stepped down from that position and I filled in for her. The PSGA is basically the student body representing Purchase College, specifically senate-wise. We have different committees with senators representing each residential building, eight senators for Language Arts and Sciences, and seven senators for the School of the Arts. It’s really cool and really important for students to get involved because it’s first-hand involvement in Purchase College.

Did you always have intentions of joining the PSGA?

When I first joined, I was just thinking it would look great on a resume. As I got more involved in the PSGA, I realized how important it is to represent your school, how to find out firsthand problems students are having, and how to fix those problems. Not a lot of students know about the PSGA and many students are unaware of how to become heard if they are having issues at Purchase. The PSGA is there for students to help students.

What were your first thoughts about the PSGA? Did you have friends previously involved in it?

When I first joined it was hectic, it was crazy! As I got into it, I did have some friends join me. One of my friends, Nina, is the Diversity Chair and she is also the senator that represents Fort Awesome.

Pallozzi in the presidential conference room in the Student Services Building. She runs senate meeting every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in this office (Photo by Natalie Tulloch)

What are your goals going forward with the PSGA? What does your job require? How is the workload?

I'm the Chair of the Senate so I oversee all of the senators that represent the buildings like the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and more. My main job is to run elections. Anyone who wants to run for elections applies through Panther Link and I have to go through all that, check their GPAs, stuff like that. I also run senate meetings every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in the presidential conference room inside the Student Services Building– it's open to all students. I also run town halls every three weeks at The Stood. The workload is a little less for the executive board which includes the President, Vice President, the Chair of Senate, and the Finance Chair. I will be honest, I went into this blindly and I kind of learned as things moved along, I'm still learning. It is a lot of work and I think having a schedule definitely helps [organizing] everything during the week. While it is a lot of work, I love doing it!

Are there things surrounding the school or the PSGA that you wish were different? Do you feel supported in your position?

I do feel supported in my position. I have a lot of help around me. The only thing I wish was different would be that I wish there wasn't a gap between administration and student life. I think as the years go on, we're starting to close that gap. I think town halls are a great thing when it comes to making that connection. I think with every college there's a gap between students and administration but specifically the Mandatory Student Activity Fee (MSAF) defines that gap. The MSAF comes out of the tuition, it’s [$125]. This amount goes toward Culture Shock, events that happen in The Stood, and any PSGA-run events or clubs.

Anything else you would like to share? Are you excited for this semester?

I’m definitely looking forward to the activities we have planned in the spring. I think this semester is going to be different than all the other ones because we are trying to be more involved in student life events, mainly the senate is trying to run events. You’ll see it in the future.