(Madeline Pado/DD)
With USGD President Joseph Grossman and presidential candidate Erika Green speaking with students for the next several days, some students will undoubtedly be asked what they thought went well this year and what needs improvement.
But students tend to know little about what student government has done this year or the impact it can have on students.
The most common issue students were aware of was the role USGD took against House Bill 2675, which would have required some students to pay $2,000 out of pocket.
“I rely on financial aid and grants and that house bill kind of felt like a slap in the face. (It) made me feel undeserving of the scholarship I’m trying to keep,” English education sophomore Kaitlyn Knudson said.
Journalism freshman Yahaira Jacquez also said working against the bill was “most meaningful” to her. She admitted to being unaware of other student government activities.
Student’s voices were not ignored this year, life skills coaching sophomore Clay Pennington said, and student government really advocated for students. He also mentioned that the USGD Facebook page helped him stay informed about what was going.
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” he said.
Pennington believed student government could improve if it held more meetings explaining what it was doing or created online polls asking for student opinions.
The additions of more events, such as the Food Truck Fiestas, were a good improvement for student government, said Paige Szymkowski, family and human development sophomore and Resident Hall Association member.
She also used the Facebook page to stay updated on student government, but said some things “pop up last minute” and USGD could use better communication.
“Maybe that’s part of the underlying problem, their connection with the student body,” journalism sophomore Ja’han Jones said.
Jones said he tried to keep up with student government news, but didn’t hear much about it.
“I did go to their debates last year and they had a lot of things they said they were going to do, but I don’t know if they were done,” Jones said.
Barrett, the Honors College Sen. Jessica Boehm agreed that student government could improve upon their communications skills, but overall she was happy with what was accomplished this year.
“The best thing was the pan-campus committee that allows two members from each campus to come together and discuss pertinent issues, such as the universal constitution,” Boehm said.
College of Public Programs Sen. Cecilio Porras, who is running for reelection, added that student government did well by changing its name to USGD, revising the Budget Allocations Committee and making student government more transparent.
In the future, he hopes to see senators better prepared with more training for the new staff.
“We have done so much this year. Regardless of who holds positions next year, it is imperative that we keep moving forward,” Porras said.
Contact the reporter at mlongdon@asu.edu
Mugshots by Matt Longdon
