From the electronic ride board to providing free tampons to discussing ways to improve our academic experiences, Bucknell Student Government (BSG) is the wheels behind the curtain that keep our student body happy and satisfied with all of our best interests in mind. Our elected presidents, senators and committee members work hard every day to do a multitude of good for our community, student and campus-wide. For those of you who might be unsure of what Bucknell Student Government (BSG) is, it is a group of elected students whom are here to represent, support and listen to the rest of the student body. Not only are they here to be a voice for us students, they are the agents for improving our academic policies, class unity, campus life, diversity awareness and much more. Along with class presidents, class senators and committees, BSG has an executive board, consisting of a President, Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Administration. BSG recently held elections to fulfill these positions with experienced and motivated members of our student body for the upcoming academic year. This year our BSG executive board is represented by all students of the Sophomore 2020 class. They are excited to positively impact our student body community and university even more and I know I am excited to see what they have in store! Keep reading to learn a little more about our newly elected BSG Executives:
- Please state your name, class year, new position and a brief overview of what it entails.
Chandler: My name is Chandler Houldin and I’m a sophomore about to be inducted as the Executive President of Bucknell Student Government. My duties include the following, according to the BSG Constitution: “To call and preside over Executive Board, Executive Committee, and Congress meetings. The President will relinquish the Chair to the VP-Operations when personal involvement impedes objectivity. The President may also delegate power to the VP-Operations if he/she sees fit. To act as a liaison between the student body and the faculty, staff, and administration. To serve as an official liaison to the Board of Trustees. To attend all faculty meetings, or to designate a member of the Executive Board to attend in his/her place. To ensure open communication between BSG, the student body, and the student newspaper. To ensure open communication between BSG and the President and Vice-Presidents of the University. To ensure open communication between BSG and the Dean of Students. To monitor all actions of the faculty and administration to ensure students’ rights are preserved. To hold office hours one hour a day, three days a week to be available for the student body. To sit on the Appropriations Committee. To perform any other pertinent duty that requires his/her action.”
Soni: My name is Soni Madnani. I am a sophomore majoring in political science, economics, and Spanish and next semester I will be taking on the role of VP of Administration. In this position, I will distribute and publish minutes from our weekly Congress, release information about BSG to our campus via social media, and keep a record of Congress members’ attendance. Most importantly, I will be working alongside Chandler and John to accurately represent and support the student body!
John: John Davidian, Class of 2020, Vice President of Operations. My duties will include being responsible for running all BSG elections, serving as Chair of the Organizational Review Board, helping publicize BSG events and activities, making sure that there is BSG representation on various campus committees, and working with the Executive Board on various goals and initiatives in Congress.
- What drew you to joining BSG upon entering Bucknell?
Chandler: I came to Bucknell knowing that becoming involved on campus would likely lead to an enjoyable four years. Before arriving on campus, I researched involvement opportunities and stumbled upon the BSG webpage. BSG appeared to be involved in all major University affairs and that is what interested me. With a Congress of over 60 people, it was a great way to meet people. Signups took place during the first week of my first year and I decided to go big by running for president. Running against eight others, I won. I’m fortunate to have found my niche on campus.
Soni: I was heavily involved in student government when I was in high school so naturally, when I came to Bucknell I wanted to join BSG. I’m so glad I ran for the Class of 2020 Senate because it provided me with an avenue to promote change and gain a voice on this campus.
John: I joined BSG last year because I wanted to have an impact on the student experience. This is a wonderful school, and I was hoping that, by joining BSG, I would have the ability to make it even better.
- What are you hoping to implement, change or expand on in your new role on BSG exec?
Chandler: I plan to advocate for the student body and get answers that students are looking for. In the coming semester, I plan on working with my Vice Presidents, John and Soni, on a constitutional review. Throughout the past semesters, Congress has not run as smoothly as possible due to certain procedural requirements set forth in the BSG Constitution and Bylaws. I plan on rewriting parts of the Constitution and Bylaws to help Congress run more efficiently and essentially allow for more productive meetings. Another part of the constitutional review I’d like to discuss with Congress and my Executive Committee is the implementation of gender inclusive language in the Constitution and Bylaws. I’ve recently noticed that certain parts of the document include “his/her” pronouns. It is important to recognize that those are not the only pronouns that Congress members may prefer. Of course, I plan on keeping an open communication between the University administration and the student body. As we move into the second semester of our Executive Board administration, I hope to increase voter turnout in elections. I want more students to run for positions. I would love to see more students with diverse perspectives who can help move the organization in a strong direction, join BSG. Bucknell Student Government is my favorite part of my Bucknell experience and I am so looking forward to seeing BSG greatly improve this University in the coming year.
Soni: I’m really excited about this role because I’ll get to work so closely with passionate students and administrators. I’m hoping that we can use our connections and ideas to make productive change for the student body. I’m passionate about making sure that BSG is a place for open dialogue for all students. I want to ensure that every student on our campus feels like BSG is a place for them to express their concerns about our campus, whether it be concerning academics, athletics, our campus climate, or diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, I want to increase BSG’s presence on our campus by effectively using our social media to advertise the initiatives that we are working on. We have many exciting ideas that we are eager to get started on!
John: My overall goal for the coming year is to build on the work we have done and become even more productive and efficient. On the Organizational Review Board, I am hoping to revamp our process for approving new clubs, as well as make the committee more of an ongoing partner for our student organizations. These are modest expansions, but I believe they will make our committee more deliberate and thorough, which will bring greater benefit to organizations. Within Congress, my biggest goal is to continue to increase productivity and promote open dialogue and lively debate among our members.
- What has your experience been like so far in BSG? What were your past roles?
Chandler: I have served as the Class President for the Class of 2020 for the past three semesters. I have worked with my committee to create the Electronic Ride Board, bring chargers to the KLARC, create open communication with our class, and host fun Class Unity Events like Laser Tag, First Year Farewell, and our most recent Sophtoberfest event.
Soni: Being a part of BSG since my first semester here, I’ve gotten to see the tangible change students can have on our campus. I’ve been involved in both the Class of 2020 Senate and the Advocacy committee. The 2020 Senate has become another family for me. We’ve worked on so many things throughout the last three semesters including the electronic ride board, internship sessions for sophomores, and, of course, advertising and selling our wonderful flants (there are still some left if you want a pair)! I’ll definitely miss working so closely with the Senate but I’m excited to see what they do over the next year. The Advocacy committee has also been a big part of my BSG experience – I can confidently say it is the best BSG committee. On this committee, I’ve gotten to voice student concerns and work on tons of initiatives to better the everyday student life. I hope to return to this committee my senior year!
John: So far, my experience in BSG has been wonderful. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and I look forward to continued success moving forward. For the last three semesters, I have sat on the Organizational Review Board as a member of the House.
- Do you ever see yourself working for the United States Government?
Chandler: I do not really see myself working for the United States Government. As an Education and Women’s & Gender Studies major I am currently hoping to pursue Higher Education Administration.
Soni: I’m on the pre-law track and am passionate about advocating for justice in our country. I hope that one day I can work in the fields of immigration, criminal, or civil rights law. In the state that our government is in now, I probably couldn’t bear working there but we’ll see what it looks like in ten years!
John: I guess I would be lying if I said I that that hasn’t crossed my mind. Maybe one day!
Congratulations Chandler, Soni and John for your new roles as BSG Executives and thank you for working so hard to represent our student body and university.
Congress meets every Sunday (starting up again next semester) and it is open to the public, so come and listen to what BSG has to say!
Pictures taken by Caroline Sullivan