By Eliza MacDonald
Contributing Writer
The Executive Board of the Bucknell Student Government (BSG) is kicking off a new year with four new board members.
The new board will serve as administrators of all BSG representatives and activities for the next calendar year.
“Our primary role is to voice the concerns of the student body, to act as a sounding board for students on campus and to act as a liaison between faculty and students,” President Phil Kim ’12 said.
Kim, who was abroad last semester, is a veteran of the BSG, along with two other executive board members: Joey Martin ’12, Vice President of Operations, and Matt Kairys ’12, Vice President of Finance.
Martin’s job consists of handling the internal workings of organizations, committees, election procedures and club recognition.
As Vice President of Finance, Kairys handles appropriating funds from the student activity fee to various student organizations and helps to plan various budgets.
Abby Vidmer ’13 is the newest member to the BSG and serves as the Vice President of Administration, working to make the efforts of the BSG more transparent to the student body, keeping track of attendance at meetings, and taking minutes at congress.
The main concern of the Executive Board is to “make sure that the organization is running at the best that it can be,” Martin said.
“The executive board positions demand a significant commitment, and students really must put extra effort into maintaining a good balance between academics and their BSG role,” said Associate Dean Kari Conrad, faculty adviser for the BSG. “Most are in the position because they are passionate about Bucknell and want to make a difference.”
Conrad considers her position as adviser “incredibly rewarding” and said that in her 11 years as adviser, she has been increasingly impressed by the quality of the students who take on the leadership roles within the Executive Board.
Since this new board is starting half way through the year, their job is to keep the work of past executive boards consistent through the next year. The new board’s first and foremost initiative is to re-evaluate BSG by further defining its purpose and function, as well as what its members want to achieve.
One of their goals is split into two major parts. The first is to incorporate outside opinion into the BSG in an effort to better understand what students are thinking. Gathering student opinion is helping them to engage the students at large.
“We think that it is a phenomenal way to reach out to students and get a good understanding of what they’re thinking, so that when we make a decision, we’re making better-informed ones,” Kim said.
Their plans for engaging student involvement are to use surveys, hold discussion groups, and to have BSG members approach students for face-to-face connections. The latter also relates to the second piece of their other goal for the upcoming year.
The second part is to make their work and efforts more transparent to the student body. Most students are probably unaware that certain programs such as ZipCar, the Café in the library and the new equipment in the gym are brought to them by the BSG. The Executive Board hopes to increase awareness from their attractive new office space.
The group feels that their new location across from the Bison Café will make them more accessible to students.
“We want you guys to know that we’re working for you and want to have your opinions coming through the door,” Kim said.
They also hope to update their page on the University’s website.
“[We are working on] finding someone to work with us on it to make it more informative with our updates on events or goals,” Vidmer said. Any and all aspiring web designers interested in helping should contact Vidmer.
“In every corner of Bucknell, BSG has some involvement, and we want to make it clear that we are here if any student wants to talk about anything or voice any concerns. We’re looking for that kind of feedback,” Kim and Martin said.
The Executive Board members invite all students to come by their door and say hello or voice a concern or an idea since they will be considering your concerns and opinions for the next calendar year.