It’s been less than a week since SG President J Hudson and Vice President Dani Borel were inaugurated. They’ve been working to appoint executive staff members and meet with administrators this week. Hudson said the next few months will be a time for meetings and planning for next year. “We’ve gotten a lot of compliments,” Hudson said. “One thing I was worried about was I didn’t know how the administration would work with me. The administrators have been totally receptive.”Early InitiativesHudson has been making early plans for more covered bus stops and a Tiger Band commuter lot, both of which were on his campaign pushcard. He said many of his initiatives don’t require funding. As projected, the Tiger Band commuter lot will not cost the University any additional money. “That’s something we want implemented for the first football game,” Hudson said. Hudson said he wants to pay for the covered bus stops via corporate sponsorships. “Whether or not it’ll raise enough to pay for covered parking, I don’t know,” said former SG Vice President Martina Scheuermann. “The success will be determined by the people they select for that and how dedicated the individuals are.”Hudson and Borel are smart to be thinking outside the box, Scheuermann said. “Whatever economic times we’re in, we can’t stop trying to plan things and move forward,” Scheuermann said. State LegislatureHudson said he plans to continue SG’s voice at the State Capitol this summer as legislators discuss several bills affecting higher education. He said he met with Chancellor Michael Martin and Executive Vice Chancellor on Legislative and External Affairs Jason Droddy about the bills appearing in the State Legislature. “We will be meeting with them much more to go over bills so we can go speak on their behalf,” Hudson said. “We need to ensure we have a strong presence there.”Hudson spoke last year at the Legislature on several bills regarding higher education and said it was one of the best experiences of his life. He said he intends to get several SG members to speak with him.  Scheuermann said it’s important Hudson continues supporting the proposal her administration created this year for consistency. “I think they have to still continue conversations with legislators about supporting the LA GRAD Act,” Scheuermann said. “The only way it’ll continue to be effective is to continue with the same message.”Executive StaffHudson and Borel are keeping some of the previous administration’s executive departments but are expanding others, such as external affairs, where Hudson previously served. Assistant positions will be created in areas with heavy workloads.The department will now have a committee of three students from the legislative branch and three students from the executive branch to work during the summer to garner more corporate sponsorships. “[The previous administration’s] departments, I thought, were very good and represented Student Government well, and we’ll be expanding on those,” Hudson said. Hudson said he is also creating smaller sponsorship options so businesses that cannot afford a full sponsorship can still donate. The administration is creating a department of college council affairs to do leg work for college councils, Hudson said. This department will provide a “big buddy-little buddy” program which pairs freshmen with seniors from their college to make the transition into college easier. Hudson and Borel accepted applications for executive staff last week and conducted interviews last weekend. Their selections must be reviewed and approved by the Senate on Wednesday before the students can begin work.–Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]