Coming into the role of being the Undergraduate Student Government Downtown President as a sophomore has been a difficult year, but a successful one nevertheless. This year, my staff and I have been able to leave a positive imprint on the Downtown location.
We were able to hit the ground running, and the first day of classes marked our first success. We were able to get portions of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication open 24/7. This gives our students the ability to have a study space during all hours of the day. As a matter of a fact, the Cronkite school has the luxury of being the only facility open 24/7 for students. Many think Hayden Library is open 24/7, but it is only open 24 hours Monday through Friday.
We have been able to adapt to the ever-growing Downtown location and meet the needs of our bike-riding students. We were able to institute secure, metal-covered, bike storage. This has brought up the number of bike racks from 70 to 145. The only way to get access to this facility is to have one's bike registered with the ASU Police Department, then the student will be granted access. In addition, we allocated $10,000 of USG Downtown’s budget, which resulted in establishing a free bike co-op for our students that is located in the Sun Devil Fitness Complex.
In addition, we were able to work with Parking and Transit Services, and the result will impact all ASU students. We set up a payment plan system for parking passes to make them more affordable for students starting next year.
A topic that is always talked about in student governments is transparency. USG Downtown meetings are now streamed live online. There has been an approximately 50 percent jump in likes on the USG Downtown’s Facebook page, meetings are live-tweeted, a new USG Downtown website has been created and now all USG Downtown meetings are open by invitation. In addition to making the organization more transparent, we have also been able to hold our members to a higher standard.
Recently, we updated the executive board bylaws. The old bylaws were in need of being updated. After combing through the old bylaws and soliciting feedback form other board members, we were able to institute meeting attendance and office hour requirements and create an intern director who will be responsible for overseeing the USG Downtown internship program.
With the assistance of the USG Downtown Senate, we have been able to make sure that student fee monies are being used responsibly. We have implemented a requirement for student organizations to come back to a senate meeting within two weeks after their event and report how the event went, what went well, what could be improved, how many students were in attendance, how the event embraced “spirit, pride and tradition” at ASU and now the director of finance is required to report the current standing of the budget at the first senate meeting of the month.
Lastly, while looking at what some of the ongoing costs into which USG Downtown is tied, I found that we have a contract for the water filters around campus. When the contract expires in June, we will not renew it. I have been able to work with ASU’s Facility Department and Sustainability Department who will pitch in to the cost of getting water filter attachments on-top of existing water fountains around campus; The same service will be provided just through a more affordable, sustainable, and cost-effective route. This will save USG Downtown $4,000 a year.
This year, downtown students have reaped many benefits, and this wouldn’t be possible without the support of my staff.
Reach the USGD president at Frank.J.Smith@asu.edu
Editor’s note: The opinion presented in this column is the author’s and does not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
