Nemmer say Nemmer

While other 16-year-olds were applying for their learner's permits, Travis Nemmer was applying for college.

When the Student Association president skipped his junior year at Clarence High School to graduate at 17, he had no intention of becoming the future SA President or even getting involved in student government.

After doubling up on classes and taking AP classes in high school, Nemmer entered UB as a history, political science and Russian major, averaging 20-plus hours a semester.

He never did get that driver's license, and now students may catch the lanky 20-year-old walking around campus, sporting his signature Ray-Ban frames and SA polo.

Joseph Nemmer, Travis' father, described his son as someone who puts all of himself into everything he does. Whether it was the rifle team in high school or the Model United Nations, Nemmer puts a lot of time into whatever he gets involved in. That same sentiment carries through in his dedication to SA.

"He's been involved in the Student Association all along, and just seeing what the folks before him have done, he's learned a lot from that," Joseph said. "The organizational skill structure from all the clubs that he's been a part of, and the functions that he's been involved in organizing is what he brings to his position as president."

The self-described "weird dude" in high school and former captain of the rifle team spends his free time reading, writing and shooting rifles. Sam McMahon, a senior aerospace and mechanical engineering major and one of Nemmer's close friends, pointed out Travis' sense of humor as one of his best qualities.

"Travis is one of the funniest guys I've ever met," McMahon said. "If anyone ever wants a perfectly timed sarcastic declaration, they should look Travis' way."

With his quick wit and vast knowledge of current and past events, friends often consider him "one of the smartest people they know," according to senior art history major Victoria Feliz.

"Seriously, ask him who the ruler of China was in 1493 and he could probably tell you," Feliz wrote in an email.

Nemmer hopes to graduate from UB and go to law school to study election law or criminal prosecution. He spent the summer studying for the LSATs, and he has yet to decide where he'll be applying.

Even while balancing a massive amount of homework and switching one of his three majors from Russian to classics, Nemmer still found time to get involved in multiple clubs and organizations on campus, including Mock Trial, Model UN, Sub-Board board of directors, the College Republicans and the Elections and Credentials committee.

Nemmer decided to run for SA President after seeing the lack of communication and progress last year's executive board made. He recognizes the previous e-board had little to no communication throughout its tenure.

"We [the students] deserved better, and that's pretty much it," Nemmer said. "I didn't see anyone else running who could restore the autonomy and confidence that students need in the SA. We had whole departments that did nothing, and we had an e-board that was more concerned with beating each other than they were serving the students. Finding bad things to say about last year's e-board is like finding a needle in a needle store."

Nemmer came into office after Joanna Datz and the previous e-board, where then-SA Treasurer Sikander Khan and Vice President Megan McMonagle signed off on a counterfeit SA app worth $300,000.

Nemmer decided to change the culture of the SA office by communicating with the new e-board and reducing the staff size from last year. Nemmer cut event planners completely, and streamlined the office to four bookkeepers and two assistant treasurers.

"There were a lot of people who showed up, did nothing and received a paycheck, or didn't show up and received a paycheck," Nemmer said. "[This year we have] smaller, more efficient government, and that's the inner Republican in me."

Feliz credits Nemmer's organization and communication skills for helping him work well with people.

"The College Democrats and College Republicans are very close," Feliz said. "I would often see him in the office fixing any mistakes the e-board made. He was also very good at communicating with his e-board on exactly what they needed to do."

Nemmer says the new e-board is generally in the office at the same time.

"If we ever need anything we just yell across the office, it's great," Nemmer said.

The new e-board also plans on showing their faces as a group, and not as separate entities.

Nemmer believes his honesty is something unique he brings with him into his position.

"A lot of the presidents spend a lot of time thinking of the most political, most appropriate answer," Nemmer said. "I like to pride myself on being a bit shorter, speaking a lot more honestly than [presidents] in the past. I don't spin events; I just tell people what happened."

McMahon thinks Nemmer's diversity of experience from previous clubs sets him apart from past presidents.

"Past administrations have been sucked into rubber stamp-style leadership and I think the turmoil surrounding last year's executive board really brought that to light," McMahon said.

McMahon credits Nemmer's extensive experience in SA for allowing Nemmer to see first hand what is successful and effective within the organization.

When Nemmer stepped into office, he knew he would be facing student-wide distrust. Nemmer wants people to see the real value in SA, rather than dwell on the past.

"Everybody, and we can talk about this at any level of government - local, student, state, federal - people inherently don't trust government, and that's natural," Nemmer said. "What we want to do is make the students recognize that the $94.75 that they put into SA is a sound investment."

McMahon said Nemmer has a very clear vision of what he wants long term for the e-board. He trusts that Nemmer can succeed at anything he attempts in the coming year.

"Travis is an excellent judge of character; I believe that his choice of staff this year speaks strongly to that," McMahon said. "He not only has tremendous ability to lead on his own, but he also ensured that he surrounded himself with intelligent and competent staff members."

Nemmer is looking for greater club autonomy and wants clubs to spend less time adhering to arbitrary SA protocols and more time doing their club's activities.

The new e-board is currently writing and implementing the first set of codified internal controls and club protocols.

"I'm very much of the idea that the government which governs least governs best, especially when it comes to bodies like the clubs," Nemmer said. "The fewer institutional lines and restrictions and restraints and rules for the sake of rules there are, the better they function."

UB is often known for its large commuter base and apathetic student body. Nemmer admits when he was a freshman at UB, he didn't care enough at first to get involved in the clubs. But it was through his own initiative he found clubs and organizations to get involved in. Nemmer said SA has limited funds for marketing and signage, but he truly believes if UB could get more students involved on campus, the apathy would go away.

McMahon feels the participation in SA-sponsored events is directly related to Nemmer's position as president.

"I believe Fall Fest's record attendance numbers are indicative of Travis' preliminary success in increasing student participation," McMahon said. "It's important that every undergraduate student realizes their money funds these events and that they are capable of participating as much - or as little - as they want."

As a triple major in the liberal arts program, Nemmer knows UB as a whole is shifting more toward research and development, with the expansion due to UB 2020, but Nemmer believes the focus should always remain on the students.

"It's very easy in the hub bub of the promise of UB 2020 to ignore the students that we have now," Nemmer said. "We shouldn't sacrifice today for the sake of tomorrow, especially when we're looking at things like departmental budget cuts and dwindling professors."

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