Instead of holding their typical general assembly meeting, Undergraduate Student Government shed rules and technicalities for a night of commemoration and fine dining.
At last night’s 2007-2008 Awards Banquet and Dinner, USG senators were honored for their past achievements and recognized outstanding senators for their hard work.
‘It’s great to break from the normal mundane activities of USG,’ Arts and Sciences Senator Lauren Biksacky said. ‘It gives USG a more professional feel to be able to have a dinner celebrating accomplishments.’
After enjoying a dinner catered by Dining Services, awards were presented for adviser of the year, senator of the year and executive member of the year, among others.
‘I have made a difference on this campus and I didn’t do it alone,’ outgoing USG President Johnnie L. Lewis said to the senators, professors and faculty in attendance. ‘I did it with each and every one of you.’
But the night wasn’t all food and fun.
USG met prior to the awards banquet in order to elect their new academic affairs and student welfare chairs, as well as the new speaker of the senate.
After facing no competition, freshman Kevin Bosch was elected as academic affairs chair while junior Jon Dinan took student welfare chair.
Although Bosch did not plan on taking the position, he said he would step up and fill the shoes of the former chair-head Liesl Dye.
‘I’m not afraid to ask the tough questions,’ Bosch said. ‘There’s no such thing as a stupid question, and there is no task that I will say ‘no’ to.’
Similarly, after running against Senator Melinda Grooms for the position of speaker, junior Eric Young won the nomination and plans on putting his heart and soul into filling outgoing Speaker Jeremy Lehman’s shoes.
Young plans on holding senators more accountable for reports and issues, as well as serve as the main liaison between the executive branch and the senate.
‘It requires a lot of dedication, and it’s not something you run for just for the title,’ Young said. ‘If you put a lot of dedication into the position like I plan on doing, it will be rewarding.’
And though the student government is looking forward to next year’s issues and debates, they still enjoyed spending the evening reflecting on past accomplishments.
‘I can’t pinpoint a date, but at some point we went from having silent meetings to heated debates,’ Biksacky said. ‘We had ideas and discussed them instead of just approving everything that came through – that made all the difference.’
