Many students will log onto the Student Government elections Web site April 6 to cast their vote for the next student body president.
The position is the voice of the students and must adapt to different University environments and situations, many student leaders and officials have different ideas on what the position entails.
“You are that voice on the Board of Trustees. You are that voice in the eyes of the administration, and you are that voice in the eyes of the students. Your job is to understand overwhelmingly how students feel; and what students want; and what decisions need to be made for students — and carry that message to different decision-making bodies of the University,” Jim Ceresnak, student body president, said.
Tom Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs, said that the position holds a lot of importance because it serves as the channel through which student views reach the Board of Trustees.
“All of the information, and all the items which must be approved by the Board of Trustees; the student body president will be a part of that discussion and will have a vote on all of those matters,” Stafford said.
Ceresnak said the student voice should be involved in every area, and the position of student body president provides that on a large, expanding University.
“I would call the position invaluable. There’s 30,000 students. There’s hundreds of thousands of alumni. There’s 8,000 plus faculty; and there’s hundreds of administrators — and the organization is a billion-dollar organization. Students are the University’s primary constituency,” Ceresnak said.
The University is here for the students, Ceresnak said, and the role of student body president is essential.
“Without that position, the University isn’t adequately doing its job in understanding who it serves and what it does,” Ceresnak said.
Jay Dawkins, the 2008-2009 student body president and senior class president, said the position requires someone to work with different areas of the University.
“Twenty percent is an external role of leading the community, and 80 is an internal role of leading Student Government as an organization,” Dawkins said.
Stafford said that the student body president demands someone with good leadership among other qualities.
“The person needs to be articulate and have strong communication skills. The person needs to have a strong sense of ethics and values,” Stafford said.
Ceresnak said the student body president for the upcoming year should be open to others ideas and views for the University.
“It needs to be someone who is receptive and can see many different points of view, and from those points of view can make a decision,” Ceresnak said.
Dawkins, reflecting on his time as student body president, said being student body president was extremely time-consuming, but worthwhile.
“There’s tangible stuff that people see like being able to go to football and basketball games and sit with University officials, but I think one of the biggest benefits is the satisfaction that comes from being able to make positive change happen on campus,” Dawkins said.
