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The new president-elect of the Student Government Association and other officers for next year are hoping to improve their organizations image and increase communication with students.
Although the election season is over, president-elect Ramiro Jaime said that the REAL Bearkats ticket will still be campaigning for a better SGA.
In addition to Jaime, Kolby Flowers was elected to vice president, Chaston Pruitt to secretary, Robert Arriaga to treasurer and Michael Harvey to chief of staff.
After Tuesdays SGA meeting, the REAL Bearkats met and discussed the reason why they campaigned despite the fact they ran unopposed.
After SGA being criticized for not representing the student body, I thought itd be a good idea to still campaign to make sure we earned the vote, said Jaime. It wasnt just about us.
Jaime said that once they learned that the I Like Mike campaign was disqualified, he realized that he would be campaigning for SGA and not his ticket.
Flowers said the versatility of the elected executive board will help student government communicate and collaborate with various organizations on campus.
If you take a look at who we have here, its a really diverse group, Flowers said. Were not all a part of the same organizations. We represent about 30 organizations and we have our hands in a lot of different pots.
Treasurer-elect Robert Arriaga said even with the elected executive boards involvement in other organizations, their dedication wont be deterred from SGA.
Im involved in four other organizations, but if I didnt think I was capable of serving my position in this office, I wouldnt have [sought] it, Arriaga said. I dedicate 100 percent to all my offices.
Flowers, the only officer returning in the same position he currently holds, said he believes in his fellow future officers.
I have full faith in every one of these guys that theyre going to dedicate the time necessary to get the job done, Flowers said. There are no requirements for us to be at senate meetings. Were there on our own will.
Jaime said that utilizing technology in order to communicate with students is going to be a priority during his administration.
One thing that I want to do is send an email to every student organization and say send us your leaders because we need more leaders in student government, Jaime said. Were going to use every avenue we can. Facebook I think is the number one deal, Twitter is another one. Any way we can get our word out.
Students can access the REAL Bearkats mission statement online by visiting its Facebook page. Each elected executive board member will begin his term at the beginning of the fall semester.