This past Wednesday, Caine College of the Arts (CCA) Senator Samuel Wright held an event to give students information about how to become involved in the Utah State University Student Association (USUSA).
“The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about the senatorship and the availability for any student within the college to run for the position in the spring,” explained Wright.
He continued, “USU is very special in the amount of power it gives student leadership. What we do in Senate today has the ability to affect policy tomorrow.”
“If I were to join USUSA, I would change how events are advertised around campus,” said Cynthia Gilbertson, freshman at USU. “There are many events which I would have liked to go to but found out about them too late.”
USUSA includes the Academic Senate, Executive Council and Student Traditions Activities and Arts Board (STAB). Many of these areas have positions open for elections in the spring.
The Executive Council aims to enhance the quality of student life through academics, activities, public relations, athletics, clubs and organizations, service and cultural events.
The Academic Senate works to enhance students’ quality of academic life, whilst STAB aims to enhance student life by providing a variety of involvement and entertainment opportunities.
“I’m interested in joining USUSA because I want to see a change in the diversity department,” said Fallon Ferris, sophomore at USU. He is interested in running for Diversity VP in the spring. “I want to see it grow more and become more connected and unified with other parts of campus.”
“I’ve always been one who loves to plan events and encourage progress,” explained Wright. “The CCA was in its second year of existence, and I knew there was an opportunity to run, so I did. I was – and still am – very passionate about making the CCA a high-profile college.”
He goes on to explain the benefits of senatorship, “The Senator gets a near full ride scholarship. Granted, the amount of work you put in can equal that of a full time job, so you definitely earn it. But if you love working with people and representing your college, it’s all worth it.”
However, Wright warned, “I am the sole student voice among faculty, staff and administrators – the senatorship puts you in a position of advocacy that should not be taken lightly.”
“Even if you are scared to try joining USUSA, I’d say do it anyway. There’s no harm in trying. If you’re wanting to make a difference at Utah State, this is the way to do it,” said Fallon.
Senator Wright is planning on holding another USUSA information event for the CCA during the first week of the spring semester.
More information about USUSA can be found at
http://www.usu.edu/ususa/
