Student Government President Clay Tufts and Vice President Taylor Lambert delivered on initiatives expressed in their campaign last semester and plan to keep up their momentum in the spring.
During football season, students saw a revamped line system in Tiger Stadium, which different branches of SG planned during the summer.
Another staple in their campaign was making changes to the LSU Mobile app, and students may see these changes this semester.
“We are also getting a head start on the testing center app, which I’m really excited about because I’ve been able to work with that hands on,” Lambert said.
The testing center app will allow students to schedule and reschedule their exams quickly and more efficiently in the Computer Based Testing Center in Himes Hall.
SG hopes to have the testing center component as a part of the LSU Mobile app by the time incoming students are on campus for summer orientation.
“One thing that we’re currently doing in the Senate is revamping the LSU Mobile app to include the safety app that we did last semester and passed through Senate,” Lambert said.
The safety app will allow users who travel through campus to send a notification to LSUPD, who can call or go to the destination of the user if they do not send another notification of safe arrival.
In conjunction with safety initiatives, SG is working to provide more lighting throughout campus at night, though there are no specific plans.
Some projects carry over semesters, like an initiative to combat sexual assault.
Tufts is satisfied with the success of the “It’s On Us” national and campus campaign, a pledge against sexual assault, but he expects to see more student involvement this semester.
“It really brought a positive message on campus,” Tufts said. “We’re going to roll out a few more things regarding that this semester, just to make sure we keep the fire alive and make sure it gets to all students.”
This semester will be the first to have a “State of the University Address,” in which Tufts, LSU President F. King Alexander and Vice Chancellor Kurt Keppler will hold a press conference where students can ask questions and share opinions about what Student Government and the University has been doing.
To kick off the new semester with a healthy start, another initiative is a “Geaux Move” week, which will be an effort between the City of Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Public Schools and the University to help teach students how to live healthier lifestyles.
Even with the beginnings of upcoming constant election chatter, Tufts and Lambert said they are certain they will not be distracted from these initiatives.
“We aren’t going to let the election distract us from what we want to see get done,” Lambert said. “The relationship between branches has been so positive, and because of that, I think we will have a successful spring semester as well.”
“My confidence in that is in regard to how well elections went last year,” Tufts added. “I don’t expect it to be an issue at all. I hope that those days of rough elections are past Student Government. I think we’ve really turned a page on that.”