It’s that time of the year again.
It’s time for the student body to pick its next leader. The Student Government Association (SGA) elections are in full swing. And there are two candidates again this year.
Two juniors in the College of Business. Two students with great co-op experience. Really, we’re just two average white guys from small towns in Massachusetts. But the similarities end there. We’re two candidates with very different priorities.
Since freshman year, I’ve been a student leader. After moving into Light Hall, I joined the Jumpstart Corps and tutored two preschoolers in Roxbury every week. It was this community service experience that led me to internships at the State House and on the statewide campaign of Lt. Gov. Tim Murray.
After professional politics and professional co-ops, I turned my attention to professional organizations on campus. I ran the 2007 Boston Marathon for the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, raising money to support the work of Northeastern athletes in the community. And in the past year, I served SGA as the Director of Outreach, advising SGA vice presidents on public relations, marketing and recruitment strategies.
Good communication is new to the SGA. I fixed the structural roadblocks that had pushed our public relations to the back burner. It’s easier now to share SGA’s good news, thanks to a dedicated committee that focuses on our communication. I organized that committee and created my leadership role from scratch. As president, I’ll lead your student government with the same innovation and creativity across all areas of student life.
Year after year, SGA makes a promise to represent you. I’ll personally reach out to our underrepresented communities: off-campus students, co-op students, freshmen, minorities and transfer students. But it’s not just about how many students SGA represents – it’s also about how well we represent you. I will introduce a Student’s Bill of Rights so that all SGA members know their role as your representative, now and in the future.
Beyond SGA, it’s clear that we need better academic advising. SGA can fix that by designing a consistent survey of student satisfaction, across all colleges and advising departments. And with a new provost on the way, I will work with SGA’s Vice President for Academic Affairs to keep a strong student voice involved in the university’s academic decision-making. We’ll focus on maintaining the student evaluations of professors and on improving the arts programs.
If you’ve been a Husky long enough, you know about the NU Shuffle. Whether you’re trying to pay a bill or get a document signed, you’re shuffled from office to office. This shuffle will disappear when students know exactly where to go to get something done on campus. I’ll break through the confusion and develop the resources you need to know how to get from Point A to Point B with as few detours as possible. We will get you the information you need in print, online and posted in prominent places on campus.
These are just some of my priorities for my term as your president. You can poke me on Facebook if you want more information, or check out my website at www.dankamyck.com. I’d be grateful for your vote on April 1 on the myNEU Portal.
Thank you Northeastern.
– Dan Kamyck is a candidate for the SGA presidency.
