Student leadership shifted with the Students’ Association changing of the guard April 20. Old leaders stepped down, and new leaders Samuel Palomares, president; Jared Elk, vice president; and Chris Shim, treasurer, were inducted to their new offices.
The officers said they have been planning for next year since being elected. One of their most important goals is writing a student financial handbook, said Palomares, junior communications major from Elsa. The handbook will detail the process students must follow to receive funding from SA. He said they would work over the summer to finish the handbook for the fall semester.
Palomares also has plans to create videos for the SA website as a lighthearted way to inform students about upcoming events.
“We want to get work done, but we also want to be fun about it,” Palomares said. “We don’t want people to think SA is a group of snobby people in an office. We want them to see that we are funny people just like them.”
On the administrative side, Palomares wants to ensure deadlines are met and tasks completed during SA sessions.
The officers will also try to create an online voting option and resend the student survey that was sent a few years ago.
“We’re looking at taking that survey, reformatting some of the questions and asking how we and the university have done as a whole,” Elk, junior political science major from Savoy, said.
Palomares said he was excited to see the data collected from the survey and to show that data to the administration.
The officers are also building relationships with each other.
“I really am excited about the team coming together,” said Shim, senior finance major from Atlanta. “We’re comparing ourselves to the 1990 Chicago Bulls triumphant trio.”
Palomares said he is excited to work with Elk and Shim because each man brings different strengths to the table; he anticipates the team will communicate well with each other.
“We’re getting to know each other better to form authentic relationships with each other to become a stronger team,” Palomares said.
