Melissa Kathan, a freshman accounting major, has been elected as the new Student Association Assembly speaker.
All but two of the approximately 30 Assembly members in attendance voted for Kathan on Wednesday night, according to current Assembly Speaker Steven Jackson.
Jackson conducted the election. Thirty students attended, most of which were current Assembly members.
Three nominees presented their speeches at the beginning of the meeting. Khashayar Karami, a sophomore in the School of Management, and Davis Podkulski, a freshman in the School of Management, ran against Kathan.
Kathan's speech roused overwhelming applause after she presented new and radical methods for positive change at UB. She expressed a drive toward making all students' needs heard, which propelled the majority of the Assembly to vote for her.
"I think I was meant for this position," Kathan said. "I'm willing to fight for the students at all costs."
She voiced her plans for the future of UB, stressing the importance of student opinion. She proposed holding a forum 30 minutes before every Assembly meeting. All students would be able to come and openly discuss their ideas in this forum, she said.
Kathan said she would do anything necessary to invoke more student involvement in the Assembly and SA in general.
She looks forward to continuing the "wonderful" job Jackson has done.
"[Kathan] reminds me of myself," Jackson said. "Maybe a little more driven. I'm confident she's going to do a great job."
The speaker-elect plans to have a presence at UB functions as early as summer orientations. She said she would be working to recruit new members for SA and the Assembly, specifically through social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. In a school of over 19,000undergraduate students, flyers and posters on campus are simply not enough, she said.
In her speech, she provided the numbers taken every fall semester from the past five years. Kathan noted the Assembly has dropped from 80 members to 13 members.
The spring semester did have an increase of membership to 42 from fall semester's 13.
"We need those numbers up," Kathan said. "We're supposed to be the largest body and [a 13-person Assembly] is simply not good enough."
Jackson expressed his pride in Kathan for stepping up and making a name for herself. Although a majority of the Assembly expressed the same pride, many are sad to see Jackson go.
Jackson, who was the Assembly speaker for two years, is leaving SA as a whole. The junior history and education major is switching his major to computer science and wants to focus on his new and challenging upcoming curriculum, he told The Spectrum in February.
James Ingram, a sophomore political science major and next year's academic coordinator in the SA Senate, voiced his opinion on Jackson's tenure.
"He's always been very helpful and knowledgeable about UB," Ingram said. "I think that helped him become such a great speaker."
Jackson said he will miss his position, but it's been an "amazing and rewarding run." Because of his experience, he was able to meet and influence students like Kathan, who he said had a significant impact on his life.
Although Ingram is upset to see Jackson's term end, he is equally excited to see Kathan's begin.
Lyle Selsky, the vice president-elect, shares Ingram's excitement, even though he does not yet know Kathan as well as he would like to.
"From what I've heard she's wonderful and hard working," Selsky said. "I look forward to working with her and continuing to push this great body."
Kathan and Jackson agree this past year was a time of recovery from past complications within SA. They would like to see the organization really start moving forward.
"It's time to stop questioning our purpose," Kathan said. "It's time to get the ball rolling."
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