The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at Stony Brook University represents undergraduates, oversees student organizations, and allocates the $3.6 million Student Activity Fee (SAF) with the Graduate Student Organization. Its finances are managed by the Faculty Student Association and reviewed by the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Student Government has a long history at Stony Brook University. In 1959, the Student Polity Association was established in Oyster Bay, Long Island. In 2003 the SPA was succeeded by the USG which is the current student government of Stony Brook University.

The original student government was known as the Student Polity Association, Inc. Polity was established on May 8, 1959 when the Polity constitution was ratified by well over two-thirds of the student body. The name Polity comes from the original debate regarding student government. There were two opposing viewpoints, one argued for a Republican form of government, and the other for a Democratic form of government.^[1] Both sides drafted a constitution and presented them to the student body on April 22, 1959. A two-day constitutional convention was held from April 23 to April 24, at which both of these forms were discussed and debated. On April 28, 1959 a vote was held and the Polity constitution received the majority of votes.

One of the main purposes of Polity was to distribute the Student Activity Fee. Prior to Polity creating the budget, the Faculty Student Association prepared the budget for student activities^[2] The first budget prepared by Polity was a total of $12,500.

Although the Senate and Executive Council were completely restructured, the newly established USG was very similar to the decertified Polity in many ways. All Polity Agencies were carried over, and club funding remained the same. USG was located in the same office with many of the same people and employees. The Student Activities Board was left unchanged, structured much like a club with a general body, and a fraction of the size it was decades ago when Stony Brook was known as a frequent concert venue. In 2004 the Coalition Of Righteous Egalitarians (CORE) sprang up as USG's first political party. It successfully placed itself on top of the USG with the goal of giving a more fair share of funding to religious clubs. When the intent of the party was discovered, they were defeated by the investigative journalism of the Stony Brook Press. The CORE Laws were repealed in the following year.

In Spring 2005, the USG Constitution was amended to secure 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

That year, College Republicans led election reforms, removed restrictions on campaigning, and secured funding for religious and political clubs through the Second Clubs and Organizations Bill of Rights^[3]

In 2006, USG Reform and SUCCESS parties formed, with USG Reform winning a Senate majority. They established viewpoint-neutral funding for clubs and ensuring equal SAF access and judicial appeal rights

SUCCESS launched the PASS tutoring program in 2006-07. Attempts to rewrite the constitution in 2007 and 2008 which would have stripped clubs of rights and student fee voting were overwhelmingly rejected.^[4]

In 2007-08, USG consolidated its laws into a formal code which was maintained by the Office of Law Revision.^[5]

By 2009, SBUnited and Student Advocates merged into Students First, passing major reforms, including the Student Life Act to improve events, the Checks and Balances Act to limit presidential power, and employment policy changes.

The culmination of the reform years was the 2010-2011 Academic year. In this year, the reformed Student Activities Board led the way in Event Programming, hosting popular artists, comedians and lectures to sellout crowds. The historic Stony Brook Concert Series was revitalized under the direction of Student Programming Agency. The Agency coordinated and marketed the new series that featured surf-rock band Best Coast,^[6] comedian Aziz Ansari,^[7] underground hip hop artist Immortal Technique,^[8] and consumer advocate Ralph Nader.^[9] The end of the year concert featured pop artists Bruno Mars, Janelle Monáe and Plan B.^[10]

In Spring 2011, the USG ran into trouble when it denied funding to the non-partisan Young Americans for Freedom club, claiming its viewpoints and mission were too "similar" to that of the College Republicans, even though the group is not even affiliated with the Republican Party.^[11] Young Americans for Freedom threatened a lawsuit claiming First Amendment violations and viewpoint discrimination.^[12]

Three weeks after the suit was threatened, the USG promptly repealed the "New Club Funding Act," including its onerous requirement that new student groups provide a petition signed by 5% of the student body – about 800 students – supporting their funding, and the Young Americans for Freedom club was granted funding. According to the club's attorney, the petition requirement posed "an obvious burden on controversial and less popular views on campus." The initial decision to deny funding also appeared to violate the USG Constitution's prohibition in Article II, Section 3.B. that "No Club, Organization, or entity shall be denied the right to funding from the Undergraduate Student Government on the basis of belief, philosophy, creed, opinion, religion, or political persuasion" and, by establishing additional requirements for funding beyond the Constitution, Section 3.F.'s proscription, "The Undergraduate Student Government shall make no law or policy establishing separate criteria for receiving funding."

The Executive Council consists of 7 voting members: The President; The Executive Vice President; The Treasurer; Vice-President of Communications & Public Relations; The Vice-President of University Affairs; Vice-President of Clubs and Organizations; and the Vice-President of Student Life, Programming & Activities.

The Legislative branch is a unicameral legislature. The Senate consists of the entire Executive Council as non-voting members, twenty-three elected voting Senators, and two appointed voting Senators from the Residence Hall Association and Commuters Student Association .

The current judicial branch consists of a single level of Judicial Board, containing an elected Chief Justice, and four appointed Associate Justices.

In the past, the Judicial branch consisted of two levels of courts, the Supreme Court and the Judicial Council. The Supreme Court consisted of one Chief Justice, and six Associate Justices. The Judicial Council consisted of three Judges.

In Fall 2019, the student body voted in favor of approving constitutional reform which abolished the Judicial Branch of USG for the purposes of protection from legal liability and improving operational cost efficiency. The changes were justified by the claim that continued payment of Supreme Court Justices for office hours despite a notable lack of tasks available was financially wasteful.^[13]

• Official Website of the Undergraduate Student Government at Stony Brook University