By: Sean Alvord
It is a true honor to be addressing you all this afternoon as the new student Senate President. I want to start off by congratulating the new senators of the 2023-2024 term. In running for your seats, you have demonstrated an act of selflessness, duty, and passion for this community. To begin I want to acknowledge the significance of this event. In this moment we have the student senate seated beside members of our upper administration. Let this moment set the precedent that this student senate will work with this administration.
Student governments are integral parts of campus communities where students can convene from all parts of campus to collaborate and achieve common goals. Student governments allow Grievances to be addressed, problems to be solved, student-centered initiatives to commence, and most importantly allow for students to be heard.
One of the most prominent concerns I hear across this campus is a lack of communication between all entities on this campus. Whether it be between students or between students and administration, there seems to be a game of telephone where stories get twisted and the truth stretched, further complicating matters. This communication problem can be greatly eased by this student Senate. Organizations like this help improve communication. When student governments are able to hear the concerns of the students, it allows for grievances to be respectfully yet effectively communicated with an institution’s key decision makers.
One of my main priorities as president of this student Senate is to improve the relationship between students and administration. Many times, we forget that we all have the same interests. We can all agree that this is a great institution with a vibrant community and our top priority is to see it grow and ensure the student experience is as optimal as possible. This is why I wish to work together. It is my goal to have a member of Senate regularly meet with each vice president, this will allow grievances to be communicated, immediately allowing for brainstorming of solutions.
Now I want to speak directly to students. I understand these past couple years have been difficult for all of us. Nothing has been harder for me then to see many of my favorite staff members leave the institution. It breaks my heart to see so many of you overworked, stressed out, and even panicking trying to operate a club without an office of student involvement. I have seen the toll it has taken on many of you trying to lead an organization without the professional staff assistance that you require. I want you all to know that as student Senate President I will always fight like hell to ensure you get the support you need and deserve.
Despite this uncertain situation we all find ourselves in, I want to issue a message of hope. While we have all gone through great adversity these past couple of years, we still have that which is most important; we have each other and our community. We often forget that the most important part of our community is each other. I have always been and will always be hopeful for the future of this institution and our community because of our members. These turnover problems we are facing are temporary, our community forever. All of these vacant positions will eventually fill up and our resources will come back; I personally am going to ensure this happens.
I have high hopes for this new Senate term. One of the first initiatives of this administration is to establish a new position, the Student Senate Secretary of Academics. This appointed position will be the liaison between Senate and academic affairs ensuring that all student concerns are addressed. This administration will also begin initiatives to recognize the hard work of our great clubs and organizations starting with the return of Senate club awards, most notably club of the month. From this point forward Student Senate’s appreciation of our organizations is going to become a lot more apparent. This administration will begin publicizing student Senate meetings hoping to bring in groups of students each week to share their thoughts and concerns. Agendas will be posted early so students know when their concerns are going to be discussed. More messages and posts will go out summarizing what student Senate is talking about and accomplishing so students are always informed of what their student government is doing. This administration will bring back the international liaison in effort to ensure every voice is heard. This administration will get further involved with club affairs as a resource until the office of student involvement is up and running again.
As mentioned before, I am truly honored to have been elected to this position. I understand the weight of this office, and I promise to you, that I will put everything I have to give into this position. As president, I intend to operate this organization a bit differently. Many of my predecessors were experts on governments, they were political science, law and society, or communications majors, all having studied the operations of an organization like this.
I am a bit different; I am an accountant. I have every intention of running this organization by the principles we learn over in the college of business, prioritizing efficiency, productive operations, effective teamwork, and most importantly, productively and effectively working with management. I also understand constraints; sometime administration, and we as a senate, have to make decisions that are unpopular, but the optimal decision. I will take these principles and apply them to this organization, ensuring this institution has an effective student government. I wish to leave you with this. I love this university with all of my heart, I see potential and a future of growth. I see students so passionate about helping one another, that students are stepping up and advocating for each other. It warmed my heart to see the student leadership conference a few months ago. I also see administrators changing this university to ensure that we all graduate from a well-respected institution with the degree that will make us competitive. This university has a bright future don’t let anybody tell you otherwise; this institution is on the precipice of greatness. I am thrilled to serve as your student Senate President, and I will work tirelessly to ensure that you all have the best student experience possible with the necessary support you all need. Senators I ask for your assistance in achieving these goals. Thank you all, senators let’s get to work!
