MARSHA COHEN
Staff Writer
In the aftermath of the Student Association Executive Election, many are wondering what changes SA will go through with a new president and vice president in office.
For the first time in a handful of years, the election, in which Jefferson Dedrick and Zach Beaudoin raced for presidency, garnered a large student turnout. Dedrick and his running mate Alexis Phillips won the election with 430 votes, making this year’s election the highest turnout within the past two years — it still runs shy of the 2009 elections, where the winners received 634 votes.
A turnout like this can be accredited to both Dedrick and Beaudoin’s grassroot-style campaign technique, something that fellow SA representatives found beneficial.
“I think it was each candidate going to different groups. I think Jefferson saying that he, along with Zach, are running, really helped the turnout,” said Jason Burgos, a junior class representative and chair of community relations.
And although each candidate promises to make SA better than its current state, many students wonder if that promise will be carried out. According to SA’s FSU4U page, SA aims to promote: “the general welfare of the students, enhance student life on campus, and represent the interests of the student body.” The big question among students is, does SA actually do that?
“I think that [SA] has done a good job recently with getting more connected to clubs. The recent president [Jefferson] has stopped by our meeting, he’s joined up with a radio show. I think even with the last administration president, Antonio and Hughdean, they tried to get involved, but I don’t think many clubs see that because there are so many clubs on campus, and they do a lot of work over there,” said Joseph Cardina, business manager of Fredonia Radio Systems.
Some clubs may recognize the attempt that the recent administration is making to be the organization that they say they are. But for some clubs, SA’s attempts are not good enough.
“I have never really had any run-ins or conflicts with SA. The most interaction I have with SA is when it comes to paperwork,” said Shannon Schwarberg,a junior social work major and president of the social work club and womens club soccer.
Schwarberg serves as secretary for SA’s general assembly meetings, but she does not let work biases get in the way of facts.
“If I didn’t work for SA, I would know one officer: Dean,” said Schwarberg.
With SA receiving mixed reviews on their performance amongst clubs, it seems as if the association might suffer from an identity crisis.
“I think a lot of groups see us as an evil entity that just gives out money; I guess that is why they hate us. They don’t see us as representatives of the students voice. Whenever we have our rules set in place, we are seen as a bureaucracy. People then just turn away,” said Burgos.
The idea of students helping students might sound like a good idea on paper, but is it the best method?
“I think it is really impressive that they learn the bureaucracy that it takes to run an organization. I think they do well with handling the money aspect — they have to do real work. I don’t find them to be unprofessional,” said Cardina.
“I think that they should do more than fall and spring summit. Not that many people show up and they are tired, so going beyond that would probably help them,” said Schwarberg.