Madeline Finnegan, a sophomore studying economics at NC State, was elected president of the North Carolina Association of Student Governments on Saturday, which represents more than 220,000 students on all 17 campuses in the UNC System.
As part of her role as president of ASG, Finnegan will have a non-voting seat on the UNC Board of Governors.
Finnegan currently serves as the vice president for budget and finance for ASG and she served as the associate vice president of budget and finance during her freshman year.
Before coming to NC State, Finnegan attended the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham for her last two years of high school. She began attending ASG meetings as a delegate her senior year of high school.
“I am really excited about the win,” Finnegan said. “I am so grateful to have been able to serve ASG for three years, and I’m really looking forward to this year. I’ve built up an understanding of how ASG works as an organization and among campuses, but now I get to use that experience to bring that the board of governors.”
She ran against East Carolina University’s Alex Prunka and his VP, Fayetteville State University’s Elliot Jackson. The last three presidents of ASG were NC State students.
Zack King, a senior studying political science and current president of ASG, described the ASG as the voice of student body presidents to the Board of Governors. King said he believes diplomacy is one of the most important characteristics an ASG president could have.
“Being able to be an effective diplomat, and representing students not from a biased personality — you can’t put your own politics into that role on the board or in representing students because you’re not there to represent yourself or your own personal beliefs, you’re there to represent what students want as a majority,” King said.
Finnegan’s platform focuses on several issues pertinent to students, including voting, mental health, sexual assault prevention and diversity and inclusion.
Mental health is on the top Finnegan’s list of initiatives.
“As student leaders we feel that we have real power to make actual tangible change with regards to mental health,” Finnegan said. “What we’re going to do is use our resources from around the system to compile information, cross-campus information, about counseling services, about mental health resources on each campus of the system, compare and speak about it and see where our campus needs some improvements.”
One of the issues Finnegan hopes to champion as president this year is allowing the president of ASG to have a vote on the UNC Board of Governors. Currently, the president attends all meetings but is not allowed to vote on issues.
Each UNC campus has the opportunity to send four delegates to represent the school in ASG meetings. Finnegan encourages students who are interested in becoming more involved with association to pursue these opportunities and become their campus’ ASG liaison.
“This is a role where your one job is to come to ASG and work on behalf of your school,” Finnegan said. “I totally recommend for people on campuses to try and pursue that role, and if they’re interested in more of an executive side, I would recommend applying to be an executive officer for the following year.”
Some of the positions students can apply for include vice president of budget and finance, vice president of media outreach, vice president of campus outreach, vice president of government outreach and chief of staff.
“As one of the best public university systems in the country, I think that we owe it to ourselves to advocate — to keep this system as best as it can be,” Finnegan said. “Next year, I would like to emphasize the role that ASG can touch individual students, and that people can use ASG as a platform to benefit all of the students on the system.”
Finnegan and her senior vice president, Ezzard Pickett, a sophomore studying political science at North Carolina Central University, will be sworn into office on April 15 at the ASG business meeting at UNC-Charlotte.
