By BRIAN BOWERS and KAREN DUFFIN
We would like to thank the over 9,000 students who voted in this year’s student body elections! It has truly been exciting to see so many students involved in such an important process. We recognize it as an honor to serve and represent the students at BYU, and we believe our contribution this year will be one that truly affects students across this campus.
We know BYUSA is more than it has become. We believe BYUSA can become each student’s association — where students can turn for an advocate, servant and supporter. Below are some of our commitments to you and ways we expect to deliver service and support you.
We are committed to advocating your needs and issues. Recently we have been working on issues like extending testing-center hours, working on the off-campus housing rating system, and making the Wilkinson Center more student friendly.
We are committed to accessing the student voice in order to present improvement proposals to the administration. This year has brought unprecedented access to the BYU administration and Board of Trustees. They are very willing to take on student issues in order to improve the BYU experience, but we must first know what those issues are.
We believe many of the frustrations students feel about their experiences at BYU come from a lack of communication. Many decisions that affect students are made without understanding the “why’s” in those decisions. With the establishment of a student issues icon on Route Y this summer, we believe we will have even greater accessibility to your voice about various issues and will be able to address those frustrations. This icon will also allow us to update you on the status of issues we are currently working on.
Also, with the establishment of the University Student Council, which brings together 230 student leaders across campus, we intend to help students feel more united in their service and to understand their role as student leaders here at BYU. A healthy by-product of this council will be a discovery of student issues.
Lastly, we are committed to a vision of what BYU can become. The vision of a united BYU community of students, faculty and administrators fuels our drive for better communication, your input and your individual involvement. Each of us can gain so much from the BYU community experience, but the experience truly comes alive when we become involved in it! We are excited and committed to serving you and serving with you this upcoming year.
Sincerely,
Brian Bowers, student body president elect
Karen Duffin, student body vice president elect
