Branches of LSU’s Student Government are gearing up for the semester by finalizing committees, holding meetings and preparing for the upcoming election and new administration.
Speaker Marina Cole said that she and SG President Stone Cox have had open lines of communication about the affairs of their respective branches since the semester began. She said Cox is eager to start signing legislation before his successor is voted into office.
“Stone and I want to end this year on a better note than it started, opening the door to branch cohesion,” Cole said. “Stone has been straight up with me – he wants legislation on his desk to sign. With the ideas from both of our branches, I know we can really advocate for students this semester.”
The executive branch and Senate held a joint meeting Jan. 19 to plan the financial aspect of that advocacy. The branches delegated the responsibilities of programming and idea-gathering to the executive branch, and Senate committees will decide what initiatives to put money toward.
“I’m looking to spend up to $100,000 on projects that students have been asking for,” Cox said. “We’re reaching out to students for ideas via social media, then we’re going to pass those ideas to Senate to review. The ones they decide on will be put on the ballot in the spring. This is a truly holistic SG strategy.”
Cox’s Chief of Staff Patrick Cormier said that the plan to dedicate a spot on campus to the NPHC sororities and fraternities is at the top of the executive branch’s agenda. The working plan is to increase the price of Greek fees across all Greek organizations on campus in order to fund NPHC plots. Cormier said that representatives from SG are in conversations with administration to “get the ball rolling.”
Members of Freshman Leadership Council started writing their first pieces of legislation that can be enacted. Both the executive branch and the Senate pitched in to put at least $1,500 toward the best piece of legislation.
On Jan. 24, the executive branch started writing transition documents to train the new administration in SG processes and procedures. The branch compiled its administrative and professional contacts they accumulated during its time in office to pass down to the successors.
