On the steps of the Memorial Tower Friday afternoon, University students Michelle Gieg and Patrick Downs were inaugurated as Student Government president and vice president.
University Court Justice Katie Gonsoulin installed the new campus leaders, who pledged to uphold the SG constitution.
After their formal installation, Gieg and Downs addressed a crowd of more than 80 students, faculty and staff with their plans for the coming academic year and their progress so far.
Gieg said she, Downs and their executive staff will begin cultural-competency training for new professors, designed to help professors become acclimated with Baton Rouge and Louisiana, and establish a permanent public-service office to help students get involved in service around Baton Rouge.
Downs said he and Gieg are working on a new system to distribute post-season student tickets based on athletic-event attendance. He said the system will be in place by September.
Gieg said she and Downs have formed a task force to address bus routes and campus transit. She said they also have met with the Campus Access Site Team to expand the University’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Downs and Gieg also have been working with an administrative committee devoted to switching students’ primary identification from Social Security numbers to new student numbers, Gieg said.
The newly-installed student leaders also assured students that they will fulfill the many promises they made during their campaign.
“We built the ‘Making It Happen’ campaign based on innovation, legitimacy and accessibility. These were the foundation ideals of our campaign and will be the foundation of our administration,” Gieg said.
Using an analogy of Julius Caesar, Downs explained that he and Gieg will accomplish what they have promised to the students.
“As an administration, we’ve set out to achieve some lofty goals, but like Caesar, failure to achieve these goals is not an option,” Downs said.
Gieg said that as a new
student body president, it has been difficult for her to grasp that her opinion now represents 30,000 students.
“No longer is it Michelle Gieg’s opinion,” Gieg said.
Many students, faculty, staff and Baton Rouge leaders were there to welcome Gieg and Downs into their new roles.
Guests at the inauguration included Chancellor Sean O’Keefe, University Special Events Director and former student body President Randy Gurie, Provost Risa Palm, District 12 Councilman Mickey Skyring and Board of Supervisors member Hank Gowen.
O’Keefe, a former student body president himself, said he has confidence in Gieg and Downs. He also said they have a “remarkable foundation” to build on from the administration of former SG President Brad Golson and Vice President Jenny Byrd.
The new administration also had support from family and friends.
Arlene Gieg, Michelle Gieg’s mother, said Gieg and Downs have set high goals for their administration. She said it will be exciting to see how much they accomplish.