The annual Student Government (SG) and Registered Student Organization (RSO) Banquet will be held on April 14 at 7 p.m. at the Student Union. Each year the banquet is held to celebrate and recognize leaders in student government and registered student organizations. 

“We have a lot of amazing student leaders and advisors in student government and in registered student organizations. It’s really a great time to be able to recognize all the hard work that they’ve put in throughout the year,” said Charlie Holder, the vice president of Students for Peace.

The event is planned under the Student Activities and Involvement (SAI) Office and also serves as the official appointment ceremony for the incoming student body president, student body vice president, and campus governors for each of their respective campuses (Boca, Jupiter, and Broward). 

The event also will have a cocktail hour starting at 6 p.m. in the Student Union lobby and will last until 7 p.m. The banquet dinner itself along with the award ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. and will last until 10 p.m. 

The dress code for this event will be cocktail attire.

While serving as one of the largest events of the Spring semester, it has some challenges when it comes to planning this year’s event. According to Michaella Louis, the graduate assistant of SAI, this year the committee has received a significantly smaller budget of around $4,500 compared to last year estimated budget of around $15,000. 

“There has been trying to reach out to different departments to try and pay for other things like decorations and food has been really challenging.  There has been lots of obstacles in trying to put this event together because we have no funding,” said Louis.

Despite the concerns Louis remains optimistic that the event will go well in the end. This year attendance is estimated to be around 200, with students from student organizations being encouraged to attend.

“Attendance hasn’t been bad in the past. However, it is usually student government leaders and members of student government so I would like to see more RSO representatives attend as well as just students of the general body,” said Kaila Palmer, the second vice president of the Black Student Union.

While the event won’t be held for some time, students are still encouraged to participate in the nominations process that will determine the final candidates that will be given awards at the banquet. Students can submit their nominations by Feb. 24 either using the link or the QR code in the flyer.

“While planning this, we wanted to make sure that it was inclusive to the student body. For instance, with the awards, we try to make sure that we’re recognizing and giving awards to everyone in different departments,” said Vania Bocage, the chair of the SG and RSO banquet.