Following a sweep by the Elevation party in this spring's Student Association elections, next year's Executive Board members say they are looking forward to another sweep next fall - a sweep to clean up the affairs of the organization.
President-elect Anthony Burgio said next year's staff will also work to strengthen relationships within the community, achieve their goals with greater efficiency, and build long-term plans for SA.
"The biggest thing will be changing the relationships with the environment around us - relationships with the Residence Hall Association, the faculty on campus, our new administration and ultimately the relationship with our student body, the undergraduates," Burgio said.
As vice president-elect, Dela Yador said his focus is on working to strengthen the UB community through bolstering SA clubs and Student Union events.
"I want to get to know the people who go straight home from school, who walk right past the events in the Student Union, so I can help get them more involved in the community," said Yador.
Burgio emphasized the importance of creating a closer-knit UB environment.
"One thing I hope that SA can foster next year is a larger sense of community," he said. "Which in the eyes of some is weak, and in the eyes of many, including my own, non-existent."
Greg Sherman, a freshman biology major, is one of those students who feels a disconnection from SA.
"I don't think any of the parties really deserved our votes," said Sherman of the recent election. "There's not enough motivation because we're not at all informed, and what we do hear is not necessarily accurate."
Burgio hopes to alleviate the problems that come with apathy by creating a more open relationship between SA and the students it represents.
In response to the controversy over how SA finances were spent this past year, Burgio said the biggest issue was the lack of communication between SA and the undergraduates.
"Everyone I spoke to knew completely where SA was coming from, and I think that's the votes that won us the election," Burgio said. "But the fact that we couldn't reach as many students with that message shows to me that SA's biggest weakness is its inability to communicate with the student body."
Duncan Stanley, treasurer of the College Republicans, said he feels SA has denied public knowledge one too many times this year.
"Burgio has a reputation of denying access to information when it should be publicly accessible," said Stanley.
To clarify further how the funds will be spent in the future, Yador said SA plans to improve its publicly available information on the Internet.
"We also want to revamp the records access on the SA website so that there are no misconceptions about how students' money is spent," said Yador. "They can get full knowledge of what's going on, because they deserve it."
Burgio said he hopes increased communication between SA and the students will allow people to see both sides of the argument when things like the budget come into question.
"No one pays attention to the things we've done this year until there's a story behind it," said Burgio, "(This) may cause someone to pick up a magazine and read more than the personals, but it doesn't necessarily educate them on what's actually going on in the SA."
According to Treasurer-elect Jessica Dangler, SA leaders plan to ease the communication and create a closer community through several methods.
"We plan on having office hours in the Union next year, so people can come find us during office hours and talk if they have a question," Dangler said.
Next year's E-Board also hopes to promote its lesser-known clubs to the student community, according to Yador.
"One idea we have is the Bull Break - a brief session we have in the middle of the day where we'd have activities in the Student Union (where students) come down and promote their clubs," he said.
The Student Association also plans to handle next year's business with more efficiency and energy, according to Burgio.
"We're going to be in much more aggressive pursuit of the things we wanted to do," said Burgio. "We need a greater sense of urgency in the SA to get the things done we know we've needed to do, such as putting a health facility on this campus. It's something that we've looked at years ago and need to continue to work on."
Even though Burgio will only be president for one year, a few of his plans focus on long-term goals.
"In years past, we've always looked to just the year coming up. That sort of logic doesn't work anymore," he said. "I want to clean house in SA next year. The systems that don't work need to be corrected."
Plans for the future, however, begin now with making SA a more vibrant and hands-on part of the community, according to Burgio.
"We need to become an SA that is more proactive and not just focused on building a stronger SA," he said. "We need to use the outlets we have to build a stronger UB. That type of planning has really never been thought out before."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
