Organizers tried out a new format including ice-breakers for the Dec. 4 meeting of the Student Advisory Council—a mandatory meeting of student club representatives.

The format at previous meetings this semester has been rows of chairs facing a line of SGA members. This meeting, attendees arrived to find a room of numbered tables.

Organizers seated the students according to their districts—groupings of club by general theme. A brief time at the start of the meeting was set aside for an ice-breaker question to get conversations started.

Campus Activities Board President Cynthia Murphy said the organizers spent “a lot of time” trying to decide on the best layout for the room today. She added that she noticed “right away” that students were talking more than usual before the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, organizers collected surveys of attendees’ opinions and suggestions for future meetings.

The Student Government Association oversees all student clubs and organizations and requires each to send a representative to the monthly meeting. However, attendance at the meetings has been low, according to SGA President Johnathon O’Dea.

The SGA is looking for ways to encourage student participation, including changing the penalties for not attending.

The SGA’s constitution allows it to withhold funding from organizations that do not attend Advisory Council meetings, but O’Dea said he hopes to implement more gradual penalties.