By Nicole Ferrito
In light of New Jersey gubernatorial election last week, this week’s campus celebrity is Student Government Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Alex Brown. Alex has worked hard with the help of her committee to organize a “Know Before You Vote” campaign, which encouraged students to register to vote.
In addition to registration, Alex and the governmental affairs members “worked hard to get non-biased on the hot button issues facing New Jersey,” she explained. After gathering the information, Alex sent it to a good friend of hers, Katie Moran, a senior graphic design major at the College, who created the campaign pieces such as the stickers, e-flyer and Facebook cover photos for the event. Alex said the campaign’s website received over 500 hits. She was sure to give “a huge shout out” to dining services who helped out with the campaign with table-sitting for the voter registration in Eickhoff and giving out cupcakes on Election Day. Alex and her committee were able to register 143 students on campus.
Organizing the “Know Before You Vote” campaign is just one of the many events and responsibilities Alex is a part of as Vice President of Governmental Affairs. She oversees the club approval process, lobbies for educational issues at other New Jersey schools, and works with college, local, or state policies that will affect the College’s students, she explained.
Alex began her role in student government in her freshman year, when she ran for class secretary and lost. She didn’t give up, however, and she was soon appointed to be a Senator of Arts and Communications about a week later. She chose to run for Vice President of Governmental Affairs last year because she felt it was the cabinet position that best suited her style of leadership, as well as her interests.
When asked what she loves most about her position as committee leader she said, “I’ve honestly gotten so lucky and was blessed to have a committee that is so enthusiastic and it makes the work we do so much more enjoyable when you have amazing people to work with.”
She went on to say, “I really love the aspect of the club approval process being a part of my responsibilities. As hectic as the process can get at times, I love knowing that I can help students on campus make all their hard work come to fruition and about things they are passionate about.”
Alex talked about the importance of knowing who you are voting for in an election, such as the gubernatorial race. She knows that politics, and candidate elections can be “intimidating” to look into at first, but the most important thing is to be sure you don’t believe all of the things you hear about the candidates.
“Obviously shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are funny ways to get information, but the most important part about shaping your opinions on candidates and deciding who to vote for is getting unbiased information about the candidates,” she said.
She recommended sites like ontheissues.org, which gives unbiased information and lists its sources. Alex wants to remind us that, “You’re only going to be as educated about the candidates for as much effort you put in it.”
Alex is also involved with other leadership roles on campus such as, The College Ambassador Program and Theta Phi Alpha Fraternity. She was recently selected as a Peer Mentor for Lion’s Leadership Institute. She explained that she will be working with the Assistant Dean/ Director of Leadership and mentoring underclassman students who applied for the co-curricular program that helps those students recognize and develop their leadership potential.