Undergraduate Student Government continued its transition from the previous to the new administration by voting in and electing new Organizational Liaison Committee and Internal Affairs chairs last night.
At USG’s general assembly meeting, nominated senators spoke to the student government about why they would make the best representatives for the new presidency term.
Although both Senators Sarah Shepherd and Rob Emmelhainz were nominated for OLC chair, Emmelhainz won a majority of the votes and took over the position from former OLC chair Leo Almeida.
‘Organizations are why I joined USG,’ Emmelhainz said. ‘I’m the best person for this job because I have a passion to get the job done.’
Although this is Emmelhainz’s first year serving on the student government, senators felt he would be able to handle the pressures and commitments that go along with OLC chair.
Senator Molly Albertson acknowledged that Emmelhainz’s inexperience may cause minor delays in achieving OLC goals, but she felt he was passionate enough to competently fill the chair.
‘His experience may be lacking but he has the potential to make up for it in his will to do better,’ she said.
The Internal Affairs chair was also elected last night with Leo Almeida taking the position over new Senator Andrew Doepping.
‘We need to be fair in order to show students that we are truly representing them,’ Almeida said. ‘When it comes to holding senators accountable, I am about business, not about friendship.’
Almeida plans on smoothing the inner workings of USG and making sure that senators stay on top of student government related tasks and ideas.
Emmelhainz supported Almeida due to his involvement in his previous role as OLC chair.
‘It’s important for people to be dedicated to USG,’ he said. ‘I would rather elect someone I can trust to do a good job rather than someone who is newer.’
And though past student governments have faced a lack of returning senators during transitional periods, Senator Jeremy Lehman feels that this years USG has not faced any similar recurring problems.
‘This has been one of the few years where we didn’t have election hangover,’ Lehman said. ‘A majority of the candidates who ran for presidential positions and last are in USG or helping students in some capacity.’
Reporter’s Notes: The USG public faculty evaluations are now available on the USG Web site. The evaluations were created in order to give students the opportunity to rank and rate their professors in order to benefit future students and classes. Senators Jessica Molina and Kevin Basch will be advertising the evaluations across campus through chalkboard writings and other publicity tactics.
