A group of experienced Student Government, Inc. members are hoping that their ticket will be the one leading the student body after the general elections.
Fostering Unity through Experienced Leadership (FUEL) consists of current SGI secretary Lizzy Sheehan (running for President), Maggie Gander (Vice-President), current SGI vice-president Oscar Diaz (Secretary), current co-chair for student affairs Emily Bargabos (Treasurer), current junior senator Johann Kerr (Senior Senator), current sophomore senator Jennifer Rankin (Junior Senator) and current freshman representative for St. John’s College Xu Feng Yu (Sophomore Senator).
In an interview with the Torch, several members of FUEL said they feel that their experience with SGI will help them, not only in their respective positions, but in working together as an e-board.
“We all know each other and our strengths and characteristics,” Sheehan said.
“We have an experienced group and we bring a lot of insight to the table.”
One initiative the members of FUEL proposed, if elected, is obtaining external revenue for SGI, outside of the student activities fee, which according to SGI’s tax return is their main source of revenue.
Members explained that added external revenue would in turn allow SGI to be able to provide additional funding to organizations.
“Instead of placing the burden on students, we can provide organizations with more money without that strain on the students,” Sheehan said.
One idea the members discussed was taking water bottles from events such as barbecues and recycling them for the refund.
The members also suggested in getting outside organizations to help in these endeavors, such as the Earth Club and RecycleManiacs to help in recycling water bottles.
In speaking about the budget Bargabos, running for treasurer, said FUEL would be willing to release the budget to the student body next year, in an attempt to increase transparency.
“We want to continue with the visibility we started this year,” Bargabos said.
FUEL also expressed wishes to make organizations more accessible to students. Members expressed wishes to create an organization database with contact information for leaders of each organization avaliable online for students.
“This allows groups to get new membership in between actvities fair,” Gander said.
Sheehan said that when the organizations succeed, it’s not only a reflection on the organizations themselves but on the performance of SGI as well.
FUEL also suggested creating a “general membership” category within SGI, so students not part of an organization or committee can sit in on floor meetings and give suggestions or ask questions.
In the case of a split ticket, Yu said the members who might not make it would still continue to contribute to SGI by working with whoever took over the respective position.
