For my first column, I would like to begin by thanking those individuals who encouraged me to run and everyone else who supported me throughout my campaign. It is a great honor to be elected President of the Union and I thank all of you. The Rules and Elections Commitee and GM week committees did an excellent job this year and they deserve to be applauded for their efforts in promoting student government.
Specifically I would like to thank this past year’s PU, Ariana Twitchell, for her devotion to the Executive Board and constant enthusiasm in promoting clubs, activities, and the Union as a whole. The success of the E-Board this past year can be greatly attributed to Twitchell’s active role in motivating the board, which allowed it to reach its finest potential. She has strongly defined the role of the President of the Union and is a true leader by example.
A strong foundation has been laid and I look to build upon it next year. Through campaigning and talking to students, I’ve seen how many great ideas students have, and I encourage everyone to speak up, we’re listening and we want to know what you have to say. The E-Board will be addressing some major budgeting issues that will strongly impact the activity fee. It is important that all students are aware of and understand what the E-Board is doing and how it will affect them. The E-Board and I will be proactively seeking your feedback in order to address your needs and to inform you of the current issues.
As the semester quickly winds down, I will be appointing individuals to the E-Board for next year. For those people that don’t fully understand what the board does I’ll give you a little background. The E-Board has two prime responsibilities—the first is to be a clubs’ representative, which means having constant contact with clubs and understanding their goals. The second responsibility is budgeting—the E-Board handles an annual budget of about $8.5 million which subsidizes all clubs, programs, activities, and services of the Union. I encourage anyone interested, graduate and undergraduate students alike, to apply for a position on the E-Board. It is a personally rewarding experience as you will work directly with clubs and organizations to help them reach their purpose and their goals.
In the future, I look to use this column to inform all of you of the current events and ongoing issues the board is facing. For the rest of the semester the E-Board will be meeting on Mondays at 8 pm in Room 3202, please stop in a see how the E-Board operates.
