OUR HISTORY
The Students’ General Association was founded in 1960 and has grown from an association with less than 300 members to one representing over 3800 full time and part-time students. The services, programs, facilities, and structure of the SGA/AGÉ have also changed to meet the new realities faced by our members, Laurentian University, and our community at large.
The first office space of the SGA was on the third floor of the Demarco building located in Downtown Sudbury. There were originally five Executive positions; President, Vice President English, Vice President French, Treasurer, and Secretary. In our early days, the Board of Directors was called the Council and had representatives from each college. The Executives plus representatives from each college made up the Council.
Currently the SGA/AGÉ Executive structure consists of a President and Vice President. The Council is now called the Board of Directors and consists of the President, Ranking Vice President, and 12 Directors who are voted in during the October General Meeting.
In its youth, the SGA/AGÉ was primarily focused on social and cultural events and building autonomy from the University. Today, while the association is still focused on campus culture and student life we also advocate for students at a process level and run several services on campus.
In the past the SGA/AGÉ ran a number of publications for their membership, including the bilingual Lambda which was operated exclusively by the SGA/AGÉ until gaining its autonomy in 1985.
Laurentianna was Laurentian University’s yearbook funded by the SGA/AGÉ from the 1960s onwards until staffing and fundraising problems ended its existence. The first edition of the Laurentianna was published in 1963.
By the end of 1964 the SGA/AGÉ had entered a transitional phase. Enrolment at Laurentian University has increased and this meant added membership and extra funds. The SGA/AGÊ's objectives expanded beyond providing social and cultural services to include more political and advocacy functions. In March 1965 the SGA/AGÉ became a member of the Canadian Union of Students. The 1966-1967 Council played a large role in this transition towards more political objectives.
Throughout the 1970s, the SGA/AGÉ saw many changes. The organisation gained positons on governing bodies at the University and was better able to advocate for students. The Board of Directors was altered to include representatives from all academic associations rather than just the colleges. The organizational structure of the SGA/AGÉ was also updated to make the President a full-time position. Each year the organization's structure is reviewed by the Board of Directors and Executive Team for any revisions or adjustments that are required to make the organization run more efficiently in the coming year.
The SGA/AGÉ also began an effort to expand its services during the early 1970s through a number of business endeavours, the most enduring being the campus bar, known as the Pub Downunder which operated until 2023. From 1979 – 1992 the SGA/AGÉ also owned and operated the Games Room on Student Street. In 2016 campus modernization took effect and the SGA/AGÉ began to share ownership of the Games Room with the Association Étudiant(e)s Francophones (AEF) and Laurentian University Administration. Advocacy efforts also continued with the SGA/AGÉ joining more groups centred around student advocacy at the provincial and federal level.
With the opening of the new Student Centre building in 2019, the SGA/AGÉ completed its sixth move in its sixty-four years of existence. Having moved from its original suite in the Demarco building in downtown Sudbury, to the second floor of the R.D Parker Building in 1965, to G11 on Student Street, to SSR G24 due to campus modernization in 2016, to A116 in the Bowling Alley in 2019, to its final and current location, the Student Centre building.
In 2016, the SGA/AGÉ became a member of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA).
EXECUTIVE HISTORY
President – Staysha Kasunich
Vice President – Isaac Vestby
2024/2025
