The blinking red numbers of the days, hours, minutes and seconds digital clock in the Student Government office emphasize a sense of urgency for President Michelle Gieg, Vice President Patrick Downs and their administration. The clock counting down to April 6 – the end of their term – reminds the administration that time is limited and action must be taken.
Gieg said the clock was installed at the beginning of the term to remind all SG members that one day the clock will hit zero. When that day comes, Gieg and Downs said they hope the campus is better than it was a year earlier. Gieg and Downs are halfway through – both in their time in office and in completing their goals. Half of the year is done, and half of their original campaign initiatives have been completed.
“I want to feel like I’ve done all I can when the clock hits zero,” Downs said.
Gieg said she has stressed the importance of limited time to her staff from day one.
“I challenge every one to think, when we have one day left, what will we have done?” Gieg said.
When Gieg looks back on the fall semester, she says she has no regrets about the action taken by SG in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“I wish I could have predicted the future,” she said. “It is and isn’t what we signed up for. What was important changed.”
In the wake of the hurricanes, Gieg and her administration temporarily set aside their “Making it Happen” campaign initiatives and instead focused on the immediate needs of the student body. Gieg and her administration formed the Hurricane Katrina/Rita Student Relief Fund to provide aid for University students affected by the hurricanes. The SRF donation total peaked by the end of December at $1.5 million, said Scott Madere, LSU Foundation director of public relations.
“We took a big risk in holding off our initiatives,” Gieg said. “We focused on things that needed immediate attention.”
Emily Burris, SG chief of staff, said the groundwork SG developed during the summer helped lay a strong foundation for the fall. Burris said that foundation was crucial for keeping a sense of stability after the hurricanes. Now, Burris said the administration must finish the original initiatives while remembering that quality is better than quantity.
“We don’t want to just do things to make them a check off the list,” Burris said. “We want to do them well.”
In a semester of emotional highs and lows, Downs said he was most impressed with the administration’s ability to adapt to various surroundings and situations.
Downs admitted that it was difficult to keep focus during the aftermath of the hurricanes – especially when trying to maintain pace with day-to-day challenges.
“I think everyone, myself included, really lost a lot of energy at the end of the semester,” Downs said. “[The fall semester] is the most incredible semester anyone has ever experienced here at LSU.”
Despite delaying the campaign initiatives, Gieg said the fall semester was filled with accomplishments.
Of the original 26 “Making it Happen” initiatives, about 13 have been completed and five are scheduled to be completed within the next few months. Gieg said the most notable accomplishments include increasing SG accessibility for students with a 24-hour response guarantee for any inquiries and making progress with the initiative to remove social security numbers as the primary identifiers for students.
“The best things are those that directly benefit students,” Gieg said. “Not every student sees these changes every day.”
Burris echoed Gieg’s comments and said the main goal is to positively affect student life.
“We want things to leave a lasting impact,” Burris said. “We want things to make a difference. We want people to see that difference years from now but not necessarily know that Student Government did it.”
Gieg said it was especially important for SG to quickly provide students with assistance and answers to their questions during the tumultuous semester.
“I commend our staff for living up to the 24-hour promise,” she said.
Burris said her greatest pride comes from seeing the Diversity Awareness Team’s progress with cultural competency training. One major facet of the team, which SG developed during the summer, is “Your Class: Their Voice,” a diverse group of student panelists who speak to professors about equality concerns.
“The program serves to voice personal testimonies directly to the people who need to hear them the most,” said Caroline Herring, SG executive staff member who heads the team. “The panel helps make professors more aware of how to reach each of their students most effectively by hearing what has and hasn’t worked in the past.”
As the spring semester begins, Gieg said she is motivated to finish strong – she is not yet satisfied with her administration’s legacy. Gieg and Downs both stress the importance of finishing what they promised.
“We have to finish strong,” Downs said.
A major focus is the addition of a 24-hour computer lab. Both Gieg and Downs said they hope to have it open by midterms.
“The 24-hour CEBA computer lab has to happen,” Gieg said. “It’s going to happen.”
One initiative soon to be accomplished is increased interaction between students and political officials.
As a part of the SG “Democracy at Work” program, political strategist James Carville will be speaking at a Jan. 27 forum.
Jessica Perez, SG executive staff member who chairs the “Democracy at Work” effort, said she hopes this effort will increase political participation among college students.
“We want to make students aware of all of the political opportunities,” Perez said. “We want to give students access to political officials.”
Gieg said she is looking forward to the program along with the other initiatives that are near completion. More than anything she said accomplishing these initiatives helps the administration remember that the most important goal is to serve the students.
“We try to do things that we think are right,” she said.
And as the red numbers continue to tick past on the clock, Gieg knows that only time will tell what her administration can still accomplish.
“We’re working until April 6 at midnight,” Gieg said. “And then maybe some more.”
 
Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]