ERIC SYPE

PRESIDENT

Eric Sype has been elected as SGSU President, and he wants to listen to students’ stories. A junior at Seattle U studying Humanities for Teaching and Spanish, Sype has a long-running relationship with student government. As a freshman he was the At-Large Representative of his class, and his sophomore year he was Executive Vice President.

“I thought that that put me in a great position to really be able to help the school and the student body in the position of president,” he said.

Sype said that he has always gravitated towards leadership roles, and that his ability to listen to others has made him a strong leader in the past.

“I’ve always been one to understand that there is a very high probability that there’s somebody else in the room that has better ideas than me,” he said. “And I’ve always been very open to trying to hear everybody’s ideas and then go from there, instead of just pushing my own agenda and my
own ideas.”

As president, Sype hopes to get as much student and involvement and engagement with SGSU as possible. He pointed to the We the Redhawk petition recently put on by current president Eric Chalmers as evidence of positive growth in this direction, and he hopes to continue it.

“I think that when we really start getting more student involve in government is when this university will really start to reflect what the students want it to reflect,” said Sype.

RAQUEL DAVALOS

EXECUTIVE VP

This year’s Executive Vice President discovered she was a good fit for her role thanks to a Gallup strength finder she had to take in one of her classes. The test, which measures various character strengths, found that the junior, business management major’s two greatest strengths were “discipline” and “relator.” As it turns out, these are two of the characteristics she felt she most needed for the job.

“With EVP it’s a necessity that I work with and relate with the other members of SGSU,” she said.

Davalos was the Junior Representative, which put her in the steering committee for most of the year, where she was introduced to the kind of responsibilities the EVP held. With a particular penchant for structuring and organization, Davalos figured that EVP was the best fit for her.

Next year, she would like to continue what she sees as the great work that SGSU has already done this year.

“For EVP it’s not necessarily my role to take a stance on statements or come up with projects.” She said. “But it’s my job to help the members of SGSU do the best work that they can and structure the organization so that it can do the best work that it can.”

MATT KELLY

VP OF FINANCE

Matt Kelly, the new Vice President of Finance, is a sophomore and is currently majoring in Humanities for Leadership, specializing in law. According to Kelly, up until he decided to run for his current position he hadn’t been very involved in Seattle U’s student government. Once he began studying leadership, however, he became interested in helping out around campus.

“I was just excited to relay what students had to say about different issues on campus,” he said. “I just wanted to help out.”

Once he met with the current VP of Finance, Bharat Bhojwani, and found out what the position’s responsibilities entailed, he felt that finance was the area where he could do the most good. With strong organizational skills and a history as the treasurer for the Seattle U rugby team, Kelly figured his credentials were the strongest in the financial realm.

As the VP of Finance, he hopes to grow the student government from its current size in order to help make sure more clubs and events can get the funding they need. He hopes to do this through on-campus events.

MEGGIE GREEN

VP OF UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS

Meggie

Green, the new Vice President of University Affairs, has a lot of ideas. Though only a freshman, Green has already started work on being an advocate for her peers, serving as representative of her class this year. She chose to run the position primarily because she was interested in outreach. For Green, this makes best use of her character traits.

“With outreach I feel like people have to communicate well and I think I’m a good communicator,” she said. “I would say that I’m approachable.”

This year, Green worked on getting sustainable and secure bike storage funded on campus, and she hopes to continue with the construction next year. She also hopes to help expand the #FixitSGSU concept by bringing back the “be heard” boxes around campus. Two years ago the boxes were located in most of the campus’s main buildings, and served as vehicles for students to make suggestions for improvement. Green hopes to adopt the boxes as a new way for students to make use of the #FixitSGSU tag.

MORE RESULTS:

AT-LARGE REP | OWEN GOETZE
MULTI-CULTURAL REP | MONICA CHAN
SOPHOMORE REP | PALMYRA JACKSON
SENIOR REP | LUKE LARSEN

The constitutional change to create a Students with Disabilities Representative was approved, as was the name change of the Appropriations Committee to Finance Committee. Additionally the by-law changes to add a quarterly report and an undergraduate survey were approved. The role of the Chiefs of Staff on the SGSU President’s Advisory Board was also approved. Referendum 901, supporting Seattle U’s shift to a tobacco-free campus received a majority “yes” response. There was a 24.7 percent voter turnout.