The Daily Gamecock

Student Government inauguration starts new chapter for USC

As the USC community says goodbye to its current administration under Michael Parks, it is receiving a batch of fresh new faces in the world of student politics.

After the Student Government elections in February, the new administration officially took office with an inauguration ceremony Wednesday at 4 p.m. Following the inauguration, Ross Lordo is student body president, Dani Goodreau is vice president and Merritt Francis is treasurer.

These individuals were working together on the Momentum campaign during their election wins back in February, meaning the entire executive branch will be cohesive and working towards the same goals.

The Momentum campaign, a ticket put together by the current administration, strives to build new traditions here at USC such as Cockstock, while also conserving old traditions such as Spurs and Struts. They also plan to implement a new system of digital CarolinaCards on top of the physical cards students already have and student-access charging stations in sports facilities such as the football and basketball stadium. Lastly, they plan to immediately begin advocating for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art student union.

Along with the executive branch, the new members of the 50-seat student body senate have been sworn in as well. This will be USC’s 109th student body senate.

Following the inauguration, the current senate went to their chambers, many of them for the first time, and began voting on confirmations and delegates.

These new members of the senate are going in hoping to make the campus better.

“One of the things I look forward to accomplishing is that every group and every organization have a seat at the table and their voices are heard,” said Nick Hooks, who was appointed the chairman of the multicultural affairs committee following the election.

One new member wants to make some changes to already existing systems.

“I would like to push more initiatives for loyalty points for fine arts events,” said Levi Walker, a newly elected senator for the school of music.

A main focus for the year is funding.

“I hope to review some of the budgets that are going to be proposed this year, and help the school execute responsible fiscal policy," said Nicholas Pollak, a newly elected senator for the Darla Moore School of Business and a member of the finance committee.

Overall, they hope to improve student life.

“My goal this year is really making sure the senate focuses more on the students themselves and making the campus a better place, as opposed to focusing on codes and constitution rewrite[s],” said Casey Hamlin, a newly elected senator for the School of Arts and Science, as well as a member of the safety and transportation committee.


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