The recent election of our next Student Body President, Andy Walsh, has signaled that Student Government is coming to a close for the academic year, but the current officers plan to show N.C . State just how much they’ve done in their time in office.
“It’s been a busy and exciting year,” Chandler Thompson, Student Body President and senior in economics, said.
When tuition issues took center stage for Student Government in recent months, many students overlooked the other things the officers have worked on. In order to inform students of the year’s accomplishments, Student Government passed a bill.
Emerson Barker, senior in political science, pointed out the Sine Die Bill as a useful tool for students interested in what Student Government has done this year.
According to the bill, over 60 resolutions have been passed. From extending Atrium hours to cleaning up the Executive Branch, this year’s officers have kept busy.
“We did a bunch this year,” Patrick Devore , student senator and senior in meteorology, said. “On a whole, this year was successful. We increased appropriations, worked to plan the 125th celebration and advocated for students.”
Those looking over the Sine Die Bill will notice a significant amount of work was done in changing the organization of Student Government.
“We did a lot of that at the beginning of the year. We made things less bureaucratic, in one sense of the word, so we could better serve students,” Devore said. “The system also just needed to be updated because it had been the same for 10 years.
Though he has served as the College of Physical and Mathematical Science’s representative, in the past two years Devore has also chaired the Senate Tuition and Fees Committee. Even with recent stresses like the tuition increase proposals that went back and forth for months, Devore thinks positively of his experience in Student Government.
“It’s been a great learning experience,” Devore said. “I’ve met some people in and out of my college, as well as administrators whom I would otherwise have never met. The experience helped me to become a better leader.”
While Student Government would be nowhere without its officers, campus would be lacking a voice without a Student Body President. Thompson wants to make sure her voice has been heard. To do so, she created a document that took her platform from last year’s campaign and showed exactly how she fulfilled her promises. The document, “Student Body President Platform Review,” was sent out in a HOWL message and is also available on Student Government’s website.
According to the review, Thompson’s term has seen many of her campaign promises met, such as extending Atrium hours, creating a Google calendar for campus events, enhancing the Wolfpack Student Discount program, adding more student study places around campus and more.
“With everyone in Student Government helping and working hard, I truly believe we were able to improve the student experience,” said Thompson.
While some may disagree, Kayla DeWald , sophomore in middle grades education, has a high opinion of the year.
“I think Chandler did an excellent job as Student Body President,” DeWald said. “She provided a really transparent view of Student Government that allowed students to actually see what was going on behind the scenes.”
Transparency was brought up in several of the recent Student Body President candidate debates, and it remains to be seen whether Andy Walsh is up for the challenge.
