He never thought he would be here either.

Wearing orange flip flops, a University polo shirt and shorts, Bernard Little talks as if he hasn’t been up since dawn, or that he doesn’t have at least another six hours of meetings ahead of him.

Little is still trying to settle into his role as Undergraduate Student Government President for the 2006-2007 school year, but at first glance, he gives the impression that he’s been at it for years.

And in a lot of ways, he has.

Little became involved in student government in middle school, and eventually progressed to city and statewide student council president his senior year of high school.

But when he came to the University, he decided he needed some rest from the long hours and tight schedule he kept in high school.

“I had been involved in so much for so long, I really just needed to take a break,” he said.

The break didn’t last long, because soon Little was president of Kohl Hall Council and decided that he was ready to get back in the game. He joined Undergraduate Student Government as a Kohl Hall Senator and has always been a huge advocate for

student rights.

After freshman year, Little became an orientation leader over the summer and his dedication to USG attracted the attention of Alex Wright, who would soon be elected USG president himself. Little helped with Wright’s campaign and was chosen as his Chief

of Staff.

As Little connected with his peers in USG, he was elected vice president of the organization and hadn’t really thought about running for president for the following school year.

“I decided that if I could look at my term and say ‘job well done’, then I wanted to run (for president),” he said.

Little chose Kristin Kulbis as his running mate because of her work ethic and attitude and last April, the pair was elected to the highest tier of USG.

Still, Bernard Little is a regular student at the University and intends to graduate in May with a degree in Communications. He hopes for a job working on a campus where students have as much passion for their school as he does.

And somehow he still has time to do the things he enjoys with the people he loves.

“I will cook and have people over, I get my energy from

people,” he said.

Speaking of his friends, Little says he ignored the advice that working with people you are closest to is a bad idea. He and Kulbis handpicked their cabinet for the following school year, choosing the ones that will collectively work together the best.

These decisions may prove to be very important as this school year the government will be choosing a new budget that could potentially cut funds of over $50,000 to the University and the University of Toledo, as well as other Ohio state institutions, according to a new proposal in the State House

of Representatives.

These new budget cuts are being fought by the Council of Advancement and Support of Education as well as many universities in the area and could pose problems for all college students in the near future.

This is just one of the pressing concerns on Little’s mind, but he acts like it all comes with

the territory.

“Sometimes you sit and you wonder ‘why am I doing this’?” he says. “But if I just make a difference, then it’s all worth it, it’s a sacrifice I have to make.”