LSU Student Government’s newly elected top executives are now accepting applications to fill their executive staff and are working to establish two new SG executive departments.
President-elect and finance junior William Jewell said he urges students from all backgrounds to fill out applications to join their staff, including freshmen, students who have never been in SG and even students who campaigned for other tickets before the election.
“We want to cultivate — even if it’s not a leadership ability — the qualities that people have on our campus that might not be utilized to the fullest potential yet,” Jewell said.
Jewell said the applications can be found on Tigerlink until 7 p.m. on April 4. Jewell and his vice president-elect, mass communication and African and African American studies junior Taylor Scott, will give all applicants fair interviews this weekend. They will ask applicants which positions they want, what experience they have and what ideas they have for SG.
Student Senate’s Temporary Rules Committee will then review Jewell and Scott’s executive staff appointments before they are approved.
Jewell said any student looking to get involved on campus should apply, as he and Scott can find a place for anyone. He said the executive staff meets on a bi-weekly basis, and staff members are responsible for keeping up with their initiatives.
Scott said the key to SG implementing solid initiatives is first having the best possible staff that can help her and Jewell with their initiatives or create their own. She said she wants executive departments to be headed by strong leaders who will accomplish goals.
“An important thing to note is that the people that we pick to be in our executive staff are coming in with ideas, and people are coming in with initiatives for particular programs and departments,” Scott said. “It would be kind of selfish for [Jewell] and I to overlook that–to push our own agenda.”
Jewell and Scott said that although they want continuity with the previous SG administration, one change they are making is creating an executive department for community outreach.
Jewell said he wants the department to partner with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and other community-based organizations to serve as a liaison between the student body and the Baton Rouge community.
“We think it’s a mutually beneficial thing because we know how many of our students want to get involved in nonprofit work [and] want to get involved with community work,” Jewell said. “This is a very good experience for a future job or [for] people who just want to be involved and make an impact on the community.”
Scott said since parts of the Baton Rouge community, including Baton Rouge Community College and Southern University, see LSU students as community leaders, it’s important to form this department.
“We’re here to advocate on behalf of the students, so they look to us for different things and different opinions, so it’s a great way to bridge the gap,” Scott said.
The other department Jewell and Scott plan to add is a department of disability services called the LSU Stripes Program, which would help students with disabilities get acquainted to college life.
Scott said she and Jewell are always open to speaking with students about their concerns and suggestions, even if they do not want to join their executive staff or SG in general. She and Jewell said students are always welcome in their offices.
“If anyone has a question about Student Government or anything on campus, we might not know the answer, but we can definitely point you in the right direction,” Jewell said.
The link to the executive staff application is https://lsu.campuslabs.com/engage/submitter/form/step/1?Guid=3303a725-c89d-45b1-a77b-6c465abc1772.
