JOSH RANNEY
News Editor
As the midterm elections end across the rest of the country, Fredonians should be preparing to cast another vote. This time for their Student Association President and Vice President.
The book to declare candidacies closed last week and now, two slates are locked in and will vye for the offices.
The first slate is Seth Meyer and Katie Battaglia running for President and Vice President, respectively.
Student governance was always something Meyer wanted to take on when he got to college.
“Coming to Fredonia, I believed that I could be helpful to my peers by being an effective listener and to articulate their concerns in a way that’s productive to the conversation,” said Meyer.
Meyer was elected to the office of Speaker of the Assembly earlier this semester after serving as Assistant Speaker to former Speaker Nathaniel Clark.
Meyer said his time climbing the ranks of the Student Association has taught him a lot.
“I’ve learned to make the office a more approachable place for the clubs as well as the [class] representatives,” he said.
Meyer feels his experience is something that’s invaluable for him in seeking this next level of student representation.
“Another thing you can never learn from your predecessor is what to do when things go wrong. I’ve had to work that out alone,” Meyer said.
Now, Meyer seems to feel like he’s outgrown his current position and has set his sights higher.
“In the position of Speaker, I am limited in my role as a student advocate because I am only the chair of the meetings,” he said. “I think it is a great time for me to step up to be President.”
Meyer said Fredonia’s enrollment is on the rise and the student body is more diverse than ever. He wants to continue the work of the current administration in getting the students more involved in the Student Association.
But Meyer is not done there.
“I also want to work on getting the Student Association involved in the students,” he said. “I am going to come into the presidency with high energy and relay that into a strong cabinet and we’ll be collaborating to execute a lot of projects and initiatives in my term.”
Meyer plans to build a cabinet that will not only represent who Fredonia’s students are, but that will be impactful in doing things to better the campus community.
“I want a unified cabinet meeting so that we all can collaborate and communicate between committees,” he said.
Meyer said he will be looking for motivated students to fill cabinet positions and he wants and expects them to bring their ideas to the table.
Meyer thinks he is absolutely ready to represent the students of Fredonia as their SA President.
“I think my year and a half of experience in the Association has given me ample time to understand the responsibilities of President,” he said. “I think the President is someone who needs to know the students even more so than the operation of the Association and I think I know both aspects well enough to be successful as President.”
Current SA leaders, and upperclassmen sounded off on Meyer’s candidacy.
Senior class president, Katie Hanover said, “I think Seth is very well spoken. He has a welcoming presence about him and is very open to new ideas and suggestions from the Assembly.”
Senior class representative, Matthew Anderson expressed his support, saying, “Seth already has experience in the Student Association. Speaker of the Assembly, a member of the FSA Board of Directors, The Fredonia College Foundation Board and a SUNYSA representative. He has a great connection with high-ranking members of the university and with the students of Fredonia, which makes him extremely qualified to be the chief representative of the students.”
Meyer and Battaglia’s opponents, Bradley Zifra and James Kinney, did not reply to requests for an interview.