What started with just eight student leaders has grown into a powerful presence on campus. From the parking prices, to the cost of tuition and dining hall food quality, SG’s has played a role in shaping the student experience for a century.
This year, the student body elected Ivana Liberatore to continue this work as SG president, alongside her Brand New U administration, extending its legacy of advocacy.
For decades, SG presidents have left their mark. In 1967, Dennis Richard became the first independent candidate elected president and developed the proposal to establish SAFAC. Three years later, Ray Bellamy became the first Black student and student-athlete elected to the role. After a career-ending injury caused him to lose his athletic scholarship, he successfully advocated to the administration for the creation of student government chief executive officer scholarships.
“If through my work as president, I can extend the welcoming and accepting environment I experienced at UM to every student, it would be the greatest privilege of my undergraduate career,” sixty-sixth SG president Roy Carrillo Zamora said to the Hurricane when he got elected in 2024.
The organization
Established in 1927 as the Student Association, SG was composed of an Honor Court, a Senate and eight executive board members: the president, vice president, secretary-treasurer and the secretaries of athletics, foreign affairs, publication, state, traditions and social affairs.
“I do solemnly swear that I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, defend, and
enforce the provisions of the Constitution and Laws of the Senate and the Decrees of the
Honor Court of the Student Association of the University of Miami,” a portion of the 1929 oath of office stated.
The Senate, representing the original 646 students in 1927, had three senators for the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Music, the School of Art and the School of Law.
With the expansion of student organizations, the number of chairs grew to represent all students on campus. By 1995, 31 student groups were represented with 38 senators. Two committees were added in 1981, and the Honor Court evolved into the Supreme Court.
The University Affairs Committee connected students with “dorm government”, similar to what the Campus Liaison Council and Senate Committee of University Affairs do today. The cabinet position for Organizational and Ethnic Relations interacted with other student organizations, combining the tasks that are now overseen by the councils.
Agencies
Starting in 2000, SG began adoption agencies to further enrich the student experience. Category 5 was established under SG president Shane Weaver to provide funding for student pep rallies. Today Cat5 is the award-winning student section, promoting school spirit at all athletic events.
ECO Agency was founded in 2012 to promote sustainable living on campus. However, sustainability proposals like the ad hoc committee for university recycling, created in 1995, have had a place at the University for decades.
During her tenure as UM president, Donna Shalala was known for bringing influential speakers like Justice Sotomayor and Dalai Lama. To continue the culture of bringing speakers to campus, SG president Evan De Joya established What Matters to U in 2018. Since then, influential leaders and celebrities including Josh Peck, Pitbull and Tabitha Brown have come to campus to speak to students.
Elections
The elections process has always been a part of SG, but was formalized in the ’30s to ensure fair and equitable elections. Students have always voted on the executive branch and senators, but the cabinet, though, was appointed by the president.
Initially, members of the Elections Commission would hand count all of the ballots. Tensions began in 1981, when election results were put on hold because both tickets were almost disqualified. It happened again in 1986 due to complaints against candidates. By 1994, students claimed that some candidates were erased from the ballot.
The election processes were reformed in February 2000 due to allegations of fraud. Instead of voting throughout campus, students could only vote in the Breezeway.
“Elections should be fair.” said Chris Roby, the director of student activities and leadership programs in 2000. “The last thing we would want to do is declare elections invalid because it would be a waste of everyone’s time and effort.”
Advocacy
To make sure students were heard, SG used to hold weekly meetings where they would distribute a “Gripe Card” where students could give suggestions for improvements. Now, the “Gripe Card” has become “Share an Idea,” a survey available on the SG website.
Tuition has been a point of contention for students for years. SG’s efforts to stop a $500 increase in tuition resulted in a campus-wide protest in 1980, organized by SG.
During the fall of 2024, SG advocated for the expansion of Freebee, UM’s late-night transportation service. But before there were cars, there were Nightwatch Escorts. In 1981, SG sponsored the Nightwatch Escort Program, a service provided by the Student Security Patrol Office, which provided an escort from sunset to 1 a.m.
Following the death of a student who was hit by a car while crossing a U.S. 1 intersection in 2005, the Senate sponsored the bill to construct an overpass across U.S. 1. An overpass across U.S. 1 was created, improving student security.
The bill, which passed unanimously, was named the Ashley Kelly Resolution, “in memoriam of the death of Ashley Kelly in hopes that a tragedy such as hers should not be repeated for lack of action on the part of the University, its students and the greater community of Coral Gables.”
The University of Miami welcomed its first female president in 1933 when Aileen Booth, elected as vice president originally, took over when Stanford Kimbrough dropped out.
Decades later, in 2015, Brianna Hathaway made history as the first Black woman elected SG president. Most recently, in 2023, Roy Carrillo Zamora became the first international student to hold the position.
“Student Government should strive to help create a campus that its students, alumni, faculty, staff and community can be proud of,” Hathaway said. “It was an honor and a privilege to be SG President, and my hope is that Student Government, the University, and the Miami community can continue to do their parts to create a campus environment wherein we can proudly say ‘It’s great to be a Miami Hurricane.’”