You probably never thought you would be able to sit in the EMU Amphitheater to watch movies under the open night sky. If the new ASUO Executive has its way, however, maybe next year you can.
ASUO President-elect Jay Breslow and Vice President-elect Holly Magner are brimming with ideas such as this one to get the student public more involved with its government.
“Let’s just have fun a little bit,” Breslow said. “Let’s let people reconnect with the ASUO.”
One focus for the upcoming school year is taking a step back and making sure the ASUO Executive office has not overlooked anyone. By that, Breslow said he wants to get students who either don’t know or don’t care about student government involved.
He added that the way to generate interest in the ASUO Executive is by no means political. It is not sitting out in front of Johnson Hall in protest or anything else activist-oriented.
“It’s having fun on our own campus,” Breslow said. “It’s finding ways to let people from lots of different student groups and different campus environments say, ‘Hey, the ASUO is doing some pretty cool stuff.’”
That is just one part of Breslow’s and Magner’s evolving plans for the upcoming year.
“Goal number one for the fall is obviously voter [registration],” Breslow said. “There’s some really important stuff, [and] there are some issues that students really, really need to mobilize around.”
Voter registration is a great project to begin the year, he explained. Not only is it an easy campaign to work on, but it deals with issues that could drastically affect students at the higher education level. One of the biggest measures on the fall ballot is an upcoming tax bill proposed by Bill Sizemore, which could cut funding to the University.
Breslow said he hopes doing something that worthwhile will stir up a lot of energy in next year’s ASUO Executive staff.
“We have some pretty dynamic ideas of how to get people registered to vote,” he said.
Changes within the physical structure of the office might also occur in hopes of creating a more solid and friendly atmosphere.
Under current the president and vice president, Wylie Chen and Mitra Anoushiravani, the office is separated into teams, which each have their own cluster of desks. Magner said a segregated atmosphere sometimes prevails as a result of the setup.
To mix it up a little, desks may be moved around the office. She said this will help to encourage everyone to have a stronger commitment to each other and help other teams with their various projects.
“We want more cohesion in the office and have everyone work together,” Magner said.
But that desire for cohesion extends beyond the ASUO office. Breslow said relations between the ASUO Executive and the Student Senate are sometimes clouded by personal politics, and he doesn’t want to see it that way next year.
“I really want to see some coalitions built between the senate and the ASUO Exec. … Not that we always have to agree, but let’s work together for the good of the students,” Breslow said.
Breslow and Magner are currently in the process of hiring their staff, which consists of 24 open positions.
“We have an amazing pool of applicants,” Magner said. “It’s going to be a tough decision because we have a lot of awesome people.”
A few weeks ago, the situation did not look so bright. Applications for the office positions were scant — approximately 20 people had applied. For a while, Magner said, both she and Breslow were scared no one would be staffing their office next year.
“We were really quaking in our boots,” Magner said.
Things took a swift turn, however, after Breslow and Magner attended a leadership conference May 6 and 7 in Minnesota. An announcement about the open internship coordinator position was sent out on an e-mail list-serve, and by the time the pair returned, applications had suddenly surged to between 35 and 40.
Interviews for the ASUO Executive staff were conducted during the weekend and this week. Final decisions should be in on Thursday.
“I’m really excited to get the new, fresh people in here,” Magner said.