When we sought office last spring, we categorized all the work we wanted student government to complete for the academic year. Yes, it fell under the pillars of advocacy, communication and expansion, but there was more. We organized our goals: first, we outlined projects that we could accomplish this year and, second, we created projects that we could lay groundwork for but would not be able to see come to fruition under our leadership.
As our term comes to an end, we take great pride in student government’s accomplishments. We all share the successes.
We helped return the Collegiate Readership Program. Though it took some time to fundraise the money needed to bring a smart and sustainable newspaper program to campus, we know students are satisfied. We expect student government to find resources to maintain, if not grow, the service next year.
Student government conducted both a Walk for Light and a Town Hall Meeting with Security to identify areas of campus that need to be safer. With the addition of Riverview, student safety remains an issue, and SA Government should press Security to address our concerns.
Similarly, we conducted a walk through the tunnels to identify possible changes that could be made. The tunnels were painted, and new lights and mirrors were installed. Other touch-ups and other facilities changes will come about this summer.
We worked with Parking Services to help resolve the booting issue and represent student views on the new transportation system, First Transit. While there are many glitches, student views have been heard and Transportation is working to alleviate the issues.
Dandelion Day came to the forefront this year when Campus Activites Board decided to no longer sponsor the tradition. Though it has been a taxing process, student government is working to make Dandelion Day happen for you. This year, we expect the day to be unlike it has been in recent past. As we are still looking for help, please get back to us if you are willing to donate your time.
A lot of the work we did this year was dedicated to planning for projects we hope to see develop and grow in coming years.
For instance, this year brought the articulation of the Strategic Plan. Academic departments and Information Technology are two domains where we gave feedback and advocated on behalf of students. In the coming years, student government needs to follow up with the progress of these plans and ensure student interests are kept.
We worked to ensure the prioritization of environmental sustainability at the University level. We expect that within 12 months, we’ll have a campus recycling coordinator responsible for unifying recycling efforts and potentially implementing recycling centers.
This year, student government has begun a relationship with the Eastman Students’ Association Council. We’ve supported the development of a coalition of Eastman and River Campus students and administrators, which will be able to systemize the communication between the two campuses and address any barriers that may have hindered this relationship in the past.
Finally, one of our major goals for the year was to develop the relationship between our University and the city of Rochester. Senior Greg Meditz spearheaded this effort and has presented a plan for how to move forward in coming years.
Students: thank you for trusting us with the opportunity to serve you this past year. We’ve learned a lot and hope you can see our results. We’re highly excited and optimistic about the work that the Eric Sansky/Tyler Socash administration will bring, and we’re eager to track it.
Of course, if you have any questions about anything listed here, please e-mail us at sapres@mail.rochester.edu. We truly appreciate all of your support.
Lomibao and Gewirtz aremembers of the class of 2009.
