After Up 'til Dawn's all team meeting on Nov. 8, a total of 4,093 letters were written for the organization, which benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

"Although we didn't make our goal tonight, I am still impressed by the number of letters written," said Up 'til Dawn Director Alexis Ingersoll.

The event took place in the ballroom of the Rogalski Center from 6 to 10 p.m. Students attended the meeting with teams of five other people and were asked to write at least 50 letters to family and friends.

The letters explained the Up ‘til Dawn organization and asked for donations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital based in Memphis, Tennessee.

While writing letters, students were provided with entertainment by a mixture of CDs and random door prize drawings. Students were also able to view two different slide shows of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Students found the slideshows to be somewhat emotional and were noticed crying.

"I think that things are already going better than they did last year," Erica Calson said as she thought back to the all team meeting last year.

The ballroom was decorated with balloons and children’s toys to promote this year’s theme "Bee a Kid to Save a Kid."

Candy was placed on each table and students were allowed to snack on the Subway party sub and pizzas that were donated. Executive Board members wandered around throughout the evening to help students with their letters.

"I think tonight went great and I am blown away by everyone’s performance," Ingersoll said to the board members. "Keep up the good work!"

After the all team meeting concluded, board members had a short meeting to discuss the night. Another all team Meeting was held on Nov. 16. Although the meeting was informal, students were still encouraged to come and write letters in order to reach the goal of 9,000 letters.

Students received a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital water bottle and a St. Jude bracelet if they completed their 50 letters. The meeting also served as a service hour for every 10 letters written.

More information about the Up ‘til Dawn organization and their upcoming events is available at web.sau.edu/uptildawn.

Student Government Update

Completed Projects:

•Purchased benches for Franklin and Bechtel Halls.

•Held open-mic nights with Sodexho, Tim Phillips, Matt Hansen and Bob Christopher to discuss student concerns.

•Funded Latinos Unidos and Circle K through money requests

•Participated in service projects such as Halloween in the Halls, leaf raking on campus, and gardening at Duck Creek Park.

•Created a "Club of the Month" program to recognize outstanding groups on campus. Phi Eta Sigma and Habitat for Humanity were the first two recipients.

•Purchased a punching bag for the gym.

Projects in Progress:

•Researching the possibility of revising the priority point system.

•In discussions to determine the feasibility of changing the check-in policies.

•Purchasing additional computers for student use in the Student Leadership Center of the Rogalski Center.

Upcoming Projects:

•Begin addressing student and faculty issues with the bookstore.

•Research processes regarding athletic scholarship distribution.

•Look into the possibility of adding digital displays to the Rogalski Center.

If you have questions or comments for Student Government, or are interested in being a part of this group, check out our website at www.sau.edu/sga or call the SGA office at x6466.