Following an unopposed election, Nick Smith has officially become the Student Government Association President-elect, where he is set to lead the organization for the upcoming Spring and Fall semesters. Smith’s long-time friend and running mate, Olof Persson, has won the election for Vice President of Operations, as SGA elections utilize a joint ticket for the roles of President and VPO. To learn more about the incoming administration’s goals, The Stute spoke to Smith about his personal history and long-term vision for change.
Nick Smith is a third-year student studying business and technology. He has had multiple involvements outside of SGA, including his ongoing membership on the Men’s Fencing Team, his work as a Research Assistant, and his previous role as Peer Leader Coordinator – where many first-year students may have seen him in action. Smith felt that his experience as Peer Leader Coordinator provided an alternative perspective and new insights, saying, “As someone who interned corporate before, this role was very unique because it gave me direct ownership of almost everything I was working on.” He carries this idea of ownership and mutual trust through to his work in SGA, where he expressed that one of his top priorities as President is to ensure that “the student body and the dedicated members of our SGA trust me and feel trusted. If we can establish this, everyone can feel free to advocate for the things that matter to them most and we as a student government can better the student experience.”
As for his motivations behind running for SGA President, Smith outlined three core objectives. His goals are “to continue the work of the people that came before [him], empower [his] peers, and get the most senior leaders of our institution to include a student at the table in all decision-making.” For the first of these goals, Smith plans on analyzing the cumulative work of previous administrations to determine which unfinished objectives are viable and which aren’t. He then wants to proceed with any of the objectives that are still relevant and impactful to Stevens students today. Smith summarized his second goal, saying, “It is a priority of mine to make it known that my peers have the opportunity to advocate for themselves.” He emphasized the important role of the SGA in this process, describing the organization as a “vehicle for change.” For his final goal, Smith wants to tackle the lack of communication between students and university administration, which he characterized as a national issue. “While I think we should be very thankful that at Stevens we are not having problems like some other institutions are having, there is certainly room for student opinion in the highest level of university leadership,” Smith explained. “Our staff are so willing and ready to help us, but general opinion sometimes feels like student voices only go so far.” While this is certainly a multifaceted objective, Smith plans to accomplish it by leveraging existing administrative connections and establishing new connections between the SGA and campus administrators.
While the President and Vice President of Operations have both been selected by vote, multiple cabinet positions are currently in the process of being filled by the incoming administration. This year’s selection process is unique, as it will no longer consider previous SGA involvement as a deciding factor. As Smith explained, this decision was made to eliminate many of the hindrances that applicants faced in previous years. “Seniority and experience in whatever the involvement may be [are] typically given strong preference,” said Smith. “This drastically limits the pool of people interested in a leadership role when you consider someone’s background in the respective organization.” The result of this new policy has been an astounding increase in the diversity of applicants, with roughly half of the cabinet applicants having no previous experience in SGA. While the cabinet positions have not yet been formally filled, this year’s cabinet could have a drastically different makeup than those of past administrations.
As a final remark, Smith expressed his intent to reframe the SGA’s reputation on campus, saying, “Most recently, the SGA played the enforcer role of the student body and… student orgs. I will work very hard to shift this rhetoric… more towards being problem solvers… and supporters [of] students needs, so we can get back to our mission of advocating for students.”
