After an initial election, a re-vote and two run-offs, our Student Association’s executive board for 2009-10 was elected, and they are ready to begin the new school year.
The Student Association, Binghamton University’s on-campus student government, are behind almost every student-oriented activity or organization at BU.
Every student is a member of the SA from the moment they enroll at BU, and the executive board is the voice for each student group and individual at school.
The new SA president is senior Adam Amit. According to Amit, his main duty as president is to advocate and protect the interests of the student body.
The role of the president is to act as the chief ambassador between the students and the administration. The president also coordinates the executive board, making sure they work together, and guides the SA as a whole.
While president, Amit hopes to strengthen the SA’s relationship with the faculty, administration and the city of Binghamton.
“College is one of the best times of our lives, and the Student Association wants to have a strong relationship with the different organizations that affect students so that we can make everyone’s experience here as great as possible,” Amit said. “There is a lot to do at Binghamton University, and I encourage everyone to find new avenues to pursue and explore.”
The role of the executive vice president is to oversee the activities of each of the SA-chartered student groups. In addition, the EVP acts as chair to the Student Assembly and is responsible for making sure that the decisions made by the Assembly are carried out.
As the new EVP, junior Jared Kirschenbaum plans to bring the student groups and the SA together by personally attending group meetings to further his understanding of what students are looking for in the SA.
“I am working on restructuring the Student Group Council so that it is more useful to student group leaders. I am also planning a conference called LEAD √É¢’ Leaders Engaging and Developing √É¢’ that will be in the earlier part of the semester,” he said. “This conference will be designed to help student group leaders, community government leaders, RAs and members of all chartered organizations.”
The vice president for finance, senior Matt Allwood, has the job of overseeing all of the income and expenditures made by the SA and all of its student groups.
As VPF, Allwood plans to protect Off Campus College Transportation (OCCT), and to provide regular treasurer exams for each student group’s treasurer.
The vice president for academic affairs is responsible for representing the student body when it comes to academic issues.
Elected VPAA, junior Daniel Rabinowitz has direct influence over academic policy through his involvement in Harpur College Council and the Faculty Senate.
Rabinowitz hopes to make his position more student-friendly by asking what changes students want to see in their academics as well as expanding the availability of general education courses.
Aaron Cohn, the new vice president for programming, will oversee all activities and programming sponsored by the SA. He will organize concerts, comedy shows and lectures throughout the school year, as well as on-campus festivals and inter-residential programming.
Cohn plans to get student input when programming events at BU. He also wants to make himself available as a programming consultant for various student groups.
The vice president for multicultural affairs works with the cultural groups on campus as well as the Intercultural Awareness Committee (IAC) to organize programs and events to promote a better understanding between the many cultures that are represented on campus.
Ricky DaCosta, the new VPMA, plans to reconstruct the IAC so it will work better for the cultural organizations as well as the Student Assembly.
-Sophie Rosenbaum contributed to this article.