By Bill Durkin

My fellow students, I am honored to be your new Student Government president. Serving the Northeastern undergraduate student body will be a great challenge for me, but I am confident that I am up to the job. Know that I am driven by a genuine passion for public service and that I lead with my heart. I am writing this open letter to introduce myself to you and to invite you to join me in improving life at Northeastern.

Some of you may be aware your student government has had a bumpy first two months of the year. We were faced with an unprecedented set of challenges, but talent, experience and leadership helped us overcome them.

Our accomplishments are a tribute to the hard work of the dedicated students of the SGA. This fall, we represented Northeastern at Boston City Council to speak out against the University Accountability Ordinance, and advocated for our right to privacy. The SGA conducted a voter registration drive, getting over 600 students on the voting rolls in Boston alone. The Budget Review Committee, an independent subcommittee of the SGA, has allocated $370,000 from the Student Activities Fee to fund a wide array of student groups’ programs. Currently, we are surveying students about late night study options and library usage. However, there is always more work to be done.

My initial focus as president is on the daunting task of taking the pulse of the student body. Next Tuesday, SGA will be conducting a “campus invasion,” a university-wide event to reach out to students. You’ll see us cruising around campus in golf carts, giving students lifts to class. We’ll be surveying students about current pressing issues, and also making sure university services are up to par through a “secret shopper” experiment. Senators will be dropping in on middler-year writing courses, as well. All of this is about you, the students, setting our agenda. Help us help you.

I am also striving to put a face on the organization. Throughout next week, executive board members and senators, including myself, will be in every freshman residence hall and dining hall. My goal is to get to the grassroots and talk to as many students as possible. Keep an eye out for us.

For students who are more interested in what we do at SGA, I welcome you to a weekly senate meeting. In fact, I encourage every student, regardless of graduation year, to attend at least one senate meeting during your tenure here. We meet every Thursday at 2:50 p.m. in 333 Curry Student Center.

If you find that SGA is not reaching out to you over the next couple of weeks, I implore you to contact me personally with any questions or concerns you may have. My personal e-mail address is [email protected]. As I serve out my term as president, help me be an effective resource for you. Feel free to contact me, drop by the SGA office in 332 Curry Student Center or attend senate.

I am looking forward to the challenges we as students will face this year. We can achieve great things together, but I need your help. I urge you to bring any issues, ideas, complaints and praise to us. Our doors are always open and we’re always ready to listen. Thank you for reading, and I wish you the best of luck as we hit the home stretch of the semester.

— Bill Durkin is a middler international affairs major and is the president of the Student Government Association.