By Christy Shepherd
Newly appointed BYUSA vice presidents are getting a head start on ideas and planning for next year.
The vice presidents in charge of the eight different areas within BYUSA actively started planning this month.
The eight areas are: design, technology, SAC, campus activities, clubs and organizations, community service, public relations and university relations.
Some of the new vice presidents have big plans and ideas for next year, especially concerning the Olympics.
Jason Bartholomew, next year”s vice president of design, said the new design team is superb and he is interested in continuing to involve anyone who wishes to be involved.
“Creative genius and influence are wasted merely because people are not informed or do not feel welcome,” he said.
One thing he said he wants to emphasize is collaboration with more people. He said he wants to include students, teachers and professionals.
Batholomew said he plans to improve awareness by increasing the quality of university advertising. He said he also wants to involve the community in campus happenings.
Erich Pletch, the new vice president of technology, said he believes there is a need for the university to be innovative and lead into the new school year with new and better technology and resources for students.
This year, Pletch worked on the Hub, the textbook exchange and the online Wilkboard. He said he plans to continue to improve these services as well as develop new and improved technology services for students.
The new vice president of the Student Advisory Council, Bret Schumacher, said he plans to jump into his new role as soon as possible and train representatives through the summer so they will be ready to begin discussing proposals the first week of Fall Semester.
He said he would also like to establish a computer-based training program to teach representatives the parliamentary procedures, which are used in each SAC meeting.
Schumacher said he thinks it is important to make students aware of what is going on in SAC. He said he wants to work more closely with The Daily Universe and The Collegiate Post to promote student awareness of these issues.
Chris Walker, the new vice president of community service, said his No. 1 priority is to partner with surrounding wards and stakes to participate in community service.
He said he plans to utilize existing resources rather than establish new programs.
“Community service is identifying the real needs in the community and working with the established organizations to bring about change,” Walker said.
Another big priority on Walker”s agenda is creating a history and statistics report of each of the existing programs.
He said the reason for this report would be to make the turnover of new leaders smoother.
“I believe that preserving our legacy is essential so that we are not rebuilding the wheel each year,” Walker said.
All eight vice presidents are collaborating in their different areas to prepare for the upcoming Olympics.
“BYU will be represented in the 2002 Olympics,” said BYUSA president elect, Matt Blackner.
The new presidency and vice presidents will undergo training during the summer to be ready to jump in to their full responsibilities when fall starts.
