Orsak, Tori: President

“With great power comes great responsibility,” the truth in this statement is very evident in any person in power.  The person at SAU that holds the most power and therefore has the most responsibility is our President Dr.Rankin. The thought of me taking his place is, first of all, a very scary one. Dr. Rankin faces many challenges everyday and I’m not sure if I am capable of handling the stress. Still, if I were faced with the daunting task there are certain changes and additions I would make to the university.

            

The major changes are where I would begin. The layout of the university is one job I would see as a priority. The smallness of our university is nice but the limited parking is not. There are so many areas on campus that could be transformed into parking lots which would make construction easier and the campus more accessible to students and guests. Office space for departments would be another issue that needs to be tackled at SAU. Putting departments together in one building and having locations more ideal for those departments would allow SAU to run much more smoothly.  Another important issue facing the university is the student worker policy. Students are only allowed 20 hours a week at minimum wage with no opportunity for a pay increase. This is hard on student workers if it’s their only job. That is the case for all international students. So, as president a pay increase program is something I would implement. The last issue I want to discuss is that of the no smoking law enforced on campus. Although this is a statewide law, I believe as president I could take measures to allow the freedom of choice to be given back to smokers on campus. A smoker’s area outside on campus grounds would be one option. I believe that the campus police have enough problems to sort out without having to watch for smokers too. Also, I believe this law is stepping on smoker’s rights and should be amended to give them some freedom not just taking their opportunity to smoke away completely. There are many people who live everyday on campus and should be given a place to smoke. 

            

I understand there are a lot of aspects to running a university and I don’t know all that is needed to do the things I have suggested, but I do know that as a student I see some of the flaws in the university, and as president, I would hope to do what I can to fix them.