SGA Executive Board Election: Letters of candidacy

President

Hi! I'm running for President of the Student Government Association. I have been extremely involved in the organization since A-Term of my freshman year. Currently, I am a junior and hold the office of SGA Vice-President. Other positions I have held include Interim President ( D'00), Chair of the Committee on Student Life Issues and Chair of the Worcester Consortium Leadership Conference. Also, in 1998, I was voted Outstanding Freshman Senator of the Year. That same year, the current executive board chose to send me to a weeklong leadership training school in Illinois.

As a member of the SGA executive board, I have worked on promoting campus unity by initiating the President's Council (D'00), a meeting of organization presidents to discuss campus issues and event promotion/sponsorship. I have also worked on issues with the academic calendar, including getting students involved in the planning process. Specifically, as SGA Vice-President, I've worked to improve communication between the students and the other members of the WPI community. I am also trying to improve the SGA office. Since taking office, a new filing cabinet for course files, storage cabinet, water cooler, refrigerator, and microwave have been added.

Through my extensive involvement in SGA, especially while Interim President last D-Term, I have become very familiar with several members of the administration and the Board of Trustees. I feel that these connections will help me to serve as a liaison for the students to the administration and trustees, which is a major role of SGA President. Besides being an active member of SGA, I am also involved in Greek Life as a sorority recruitment counselor, am a member of the Student Alumni Society, and a participant in the Trustee Mentor Program. I would appreciate your vote because I am a very qualified candidate who is dedicate to SGA and is truly concerned about the needs of the student body.

Do you feel SGA represents you? Do you know how much money SGA controls? Do you know when SGA has its meetings? Did you know that you are invited to every one of those meetings? If you answered no to any of those questions, YOU are the reason I'm running for Student Government President! It is our responsibility to make you aware. It is our responsibility to get you involved. And it is time we accept that responsibility!!!

Recently the senate has been entertaining the idea of taking the vote for executive offices away from the students. They based this on the fact that the students don't know what the Student Government does; this bothers me! I think it is the President who needs to bridge the gap between the students and the senators. As President I will not sit on a pedestal and wait for you to come to me, I will take an active role in finding out what you want! In the words of Donald McGannon, "Leadership is action, not position." These are not empty words that I can't follow through on. I have served a year in the Senate, which is long enough to know how things work, but not long enough to get stuck in the rut of bureaucracy. My friend once told me, "To be an effective leader, you must lead by example." My name is Farah Syed, I want to see change, I hope YOU do too!

Vice-President

Undergraduates of WPI,

My name is Jesse Hurley, and I am running for the Vice-Presidency of the Student Government Association, (SGA,) for the legislative year 2001. In the coming year, the Vice-President will have a large number of responsibilities not present in prior years as the opening of the new Campus Center will require the Vice President to coordinate the work of opening the SGA's new office there. I intend to fulfill the responsibilities of this office in a way not seen in the activities of former office holders.

I see SGA as a tool to facilitate the improvement of the quality of education here at WPI, and as Vice-President, there are several duties that directly affect the SGA's efficiency in performing those tasks. The Vice President has the direct mandate to serve as the office manager for SGA, appoint ad-hoc committees and requisite chairpersons, facilitate in the orientation of new senators, and to assume the duties of the Presidency upon the President's absence. These are indeed grave obligations, and I believe that they belong in the hands of capable individuals.

I feel that I am most qualified for this position as I have a record of experience and excellence in performing the same tasks. While in high school, I served as the assistant department head for the science department in a school of 1700 students, and in this capacity, I gained a thorough knowledge of the tasks accorded an office manager. Here at WPI, I am the SGA representative to the Safety Committee, and to the Committee on Policies & Procedures. As the Safety Committee representative, I gather information on the status of changes to the WPI grounds, occupational safety concerns, student and faculty research and development safety issues, residence hall regulations, and the status of the nuclear reactor. In the policies and procedures committee in SGA, I serve to draft and review legislation to amend and replace the Constitution and Bylaws of the Undergraduate Senate. My duties there have direct impact on the experience and representation of the undergraduate population. I believe that the undergraduates should retain their right to elect the Executive Members of the SGA. Simply put, I feel that there are inherent rights that each student retains, and among these are the ability to elect their leaders, and to have full contact with their representatives. I have voiced these opinions, and in so doing have done great service to you, the undergraduates. Truly, I will endeavor to serve the WPI community, and uphold the interests of the undergraduates to the best of my ability.

Hi! My name is Janelle Smith and I am running for SGA Vice President. I am a sophomore here at WPI and an actuarial math major. As an active member of the senate since my freshman year, I am aware of all the requirements of being Vice President, and I can assure you that I will go above and beyond these requirements. I am a very strong willed, level - headed person that can get things accomplished. If you vote me in, I will work to do what is in your best interest. Currently, I am an assistant treasurer for class IV organizations on the Appropriations committee. I am also an active member of the committee on student life issues where I have worked to improve the academic schedules for upcoming school years. In addition to this, I have worked with the public relations, elections, and policy and procedures committees. Recently I was elected by SGA as a representative of student organizations, and through this I hope to improve communication among campus organizations and the SGA. I am an enthusiastic promoter of school spirit working on events such as Quadfest. I have also worked through the Student Alumni Society's public relations on the spirit committee with the new mascot. Thank you for your support and I hope to serve you on the next SGA executive board!

Secretary

I am a Junior Mathematics major at WPI and I am running for the position of SGA Secretary. I have served as a Senator on the SGA since A-Term of my Freshman year. Currently, I serve on the SGA Senate as the Chair of Public Relations Committee. My responsibilities as PR Chair include publicizing all SGA events to campus, submitting articles to Tech News regarding SGA's weekly activities, and organizing the Homecoming Pep Rally. I have enjoyed serving as Chair of Public Relations for the past year. I now feel prepared to take a position on the executive board of the SGA where I can expand and build upon my current leadership skills. I fully understand the duties and responsibilities of the SGA secretary. If I am elected, I promise to perform these duties to the best of my abilities. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Fellow Students,

I am running for re-election as your SGA Secretary so that I can continue the progress that was made during my first term of office. As Secretary, it is my job to conduct all official correspondence between the students and the faculty; be assured that I will continue to represent your views on the issues that affect students most. I was closely involved with SGA's recent rejection of the proposed Honor Code, which was due to the concerns that were voiced by students. I am further continuing to work with SGA to get changes made to the academic calendar to restore our term breaks that have been shortened.

It is my goal to improve the sense of community on campus and the relationship between SGA and the student body. If re-elected, I will continue to work with students as well as the various student organizations to make them aware of the services that we have available. Further, I will make it my business to make sure that you, the students, are aware when policy changes are proposed that would affect you.

SGA is the voice of the students, and through your representatives on SGA, your voice is heard. However, there are those who would like limit your voice by taking the election of SGA executives away from the students. If I am re-elected, I promise to fight for your right to choose your SGA executives, in the same way that I have fought to preserve the WPI campus culture over the last two years.

Treasurer

Hello, my name is Chris O'Malley and I am running for the office of SGA Treasurer in the upcoming executive elections. I wish to start out by thanking you for your consideration of myself as a candidate. I am a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering with a Computer Science minor. I participate on the Cross Country and Track teams here at WPI, also, I am an officer in the Newman Club. I was appointed to SGA in A Term of my freshman year. A couple of reasons for my appointment were that I am very dedicated, enthusiastic, and I believe strongly in student activities and participation on campus. For these reasons, and others, I believe that I am best suited for the office.

The office of Treasurer carries great responsibility to the student body. The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the fiscal structure of all student organizations, overseeing the appointment of Assistant Treasurers who, along with the Treasurer, sustain the budgetary process and delineation of student funds. The Treasurer also serves as the chair of the Student Government Association's Committee on Appropriations. I currently serve as the Class I Assistant Treasurer, a voting member of the Appropriations Committee, as well as the chair of the Committee on Policies and Procedures. I possess experience in the inner workings of SGA, as well as the budgetary knowledge for the student body. With these qualifications, I promise to maintain and improve the fiscal structure of WPI and serve as a voice for any and all students on any issue. Thank you for your support.