The last Student Senate meeting of the year and of the current Student Government administration was held Wednesday night. Chancellor Randy Woodson was in attendance, meeting with old and new student leaders.
The newly elected leaders of SG were sworn in before the Senate. Afterwards Woodson was given the opportunity to address the Senate and give an outlook on his plans for the University and his future relationship with students and student leaders.
Woodson said having good ties with student government is important to working with the student body.
“This is my third meeting with a student leadership group so I’ve already heard what’s on some people’s minds,” he said. “The way Student Government works is really an inspiration to the University. I want to work together to develop a shared vision for N.C. State.”
Woodson also talked about his goals to make himself and the University more of an asset to current and graduated students.
“I’ll be available and accessible to students. The only reason I do this is to support the students,” he said. “I’ve got to make an effort to go out and engage with students.”
According to Woodson, the primary method to increasing the reputation of the University is to let people know more about how great N.C. State is.
“This is a strong University but I think that’s a well kept secret. [N.C. State] has always been a very modest and practical university,” Woodson said. “My job is to be the chief cheerleader for the University. We’ve got to be more boastful and tell the story of the University a little better. I want to make sure the value of your diploma goes up.”
Woodson said another one of his goals was to bring more unity to the different colleges, which one of the senators said seemed to have significant divisions.
According to Woodson, clear divisions are beneficial as they allow each department and field to develop its own reputation.
“Every University has a level of decentralization and you do want that,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out how to create interdisciplinary programs for students.”
Wednesday’s Senate meeting was also the last meeting presided over by Senate President Kelli Rogers and Student Body President Jim Ceresnak.
Ceresnak said he was satisfied with his run as Student Body President and felt he was able to deliver on his campaign platform during his term.
“I had a great group to work with. You can’t accomplish anything without a great team,” he said. “I’m really proud of the team we put together and I think we accomplished a lot and made a real impact on campus.”
Ceresnak said his original platform consisted of changing the date for spring break, improving the Atrium and student center, fostering student innovation, and instituting a student discount program.
According to Ceresnak, there were many challenges during his term but he was able to overcome and deliver results to the student body or set a sound foundation for the next administration to take up the task.
“The new officers are outstanding and I hope we’ve provided a good foundation for them to work on, not just Student Government, but all students,” Ceresnak said. “It will be difficult: working with a new chancellor, new leadership, and the continued economic situations. There will be challenges but also new opportunities and this is a good group to meet the challenges.”
Rogers also reflected on her time serving as Senate president and said there were definitely a lot of obstacles they overcame.
“Senate has been through a lot and had a fair share of challenges throughout the year. We lost our chancellor not to long after the first meeting,” she said. “From dealing with the scandal to trying to find a way to build a new student center, we’ve faced a lot of controversy.”
According to Rogers, her goal coming into the position of Senate president was to change the idea SG was an exclusive, elite group.
“The biggest thing I wanted to accomplish was to break up the “good-old-boys” club SG was,” she said. “We struggled with remaining open to all students, making it more accessible and representative of the student body.”
Rogers said the only constant thing in SG should be change and the new administration should continue searching for new perspectives to better represent students.
“I hope this year has laid a good foundation for responsible future leadership, especially when it comes to being held responsible for actions,” she said. “SG needs to reestablish itself with the students while it tries to do the same with the new administration.”
