A New Era for Student Government
As the semester winds down, the 2013-2014 Student Government is just getting started. Elected on March 28, Student Government is comprised of four Executive Officers, Board of Governors student representatives, Faculty Senate members, Statewide Advisory Council representative, Director of Public Relations, FSU House of Representatives, Freshman Senators, Sophomore Senators, Junior Senators and Senior Senators.
According to Vice President Frances Vessels, “The pulse of Student Government changes with each new administration. Each year the new executive officers try to improve upon the way things were done in the past.”
Part of those changes will take place this summer when the executive officers begin a big period of transition. “Student Government will no longer handle the social activities of campus,” explained advisor Meagan Gibson. “We are excited to be able to focus more on campus governance and lobbying throughout the state.”
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Sean Rafferty President |
Frances Vessels Vice President |
Christopher Dowell Treasurer |
Tendai Ushendibaba Secretary |
Meagan Gibson ‘12, Advisor |
In addition to adapting to these changes, this summer will be spent revising the group’s constitution. “We will be redoing and rewriting the constitution to include new representatives,” said President Sean Rafferty. These new positions will include an honors representative, two Greek life representatives, two athletics representatives, a non-traditional representative and a commuter representative. According to Rafferty these positions will be open for fall elections and voted on by the student body.
Students running for positions in the fall election will notice less red tape in the application process. “The election rules will be changed to make things a lot smoother and make it easier for students to participate,” said Rafferty. “We also hope to go back to online voting to be able to capture the full student body and get them all involved and allow a way for everyone to cast their vote.”
This summer, student government members will also be working on the student judiciary policy that serves as the procedures followed when a student breaks the student code of conduct. “We are hoping to be much more involved in the judiciary policy in the future,” added Rafferty.
For Rafferty and the other executive officers, the bottom line is that they are here for the students and they want to be a resource to voice concerns and suggestions for improvements.
“The Student Government Office is on the second floor of the Falcon Center, in the hallway past the Nickle. Our doors are always open. Each member of the Student Government has mandatory weekly office hours in order to keep the office staffed as much as possible. Next year, we will try to be more visible so students feel like there is a place to go and talk. We meet Thursdays at 12:30p.m. in 128 Hardway Hall and all students are welcome to attend those meetings and voice their opinions.”
Student GovernmentSean RaffertyFrances VesselsChristopher DowellTendai UshendibabaMeagan Gibson
