Q: What is your current focus as the semester draws to an end?
Gonzalez: I think it’s just getting everything organized. We nominated our cabinet, and we’re waiting on Senate Wednesday to get that happening, and we’re meeting with department heads in our cabinet to make sure that everyone knows the roles and we’re all getting into that mindset to where we have a system where we are able to achieve those goals throughout the semester, so we’re going in knowing what we’re doing and what to expect.
Q: What objectives will have your greatest attention during the summer and at the beginning of next school year?
Connell: During the summer, it focuses a lot on what has to be done early on in the school year, so we’re starting a lot of the groundwork with the roles with the individual department heads, as well as chief of staff and executive assistant. So, we’re focusing on what’s going to have to be done to have the school year starting off smoothly … Student Government, this past year, was not present at that student involvement fair that goes on at orientation groups, and so we’re making sure that we’re present there so that the incoming students already see our faces and know what’s going on.
Q: Part of the platform you ran on was addressing sexual assault at NC State. What are the first actions you have taken and will take to address that issue?
Connell: Our first step (just very baseline, minimal) is figuring out the remaining budget from the previous administration. Typically there’s a surplus, and we can spend that money. Paul and Brayndon spent it on a Mac for the office, and we’re looking at possibly spending it on those graduation pins we talked about in our campaign period that we can award people who decide to do the [“Every Choice” consent education] training by their own initiative to try to incorporate the remaining three-fourths of the student body [because it’s currently only required for first-year students].
Gonzalez: I forgot what the actual statistic is, but a lot of sexual assault happens within the first month or year of coming to college, so I think something that’s important that we’re working on over the summer is working with not only orientation, but the Women’s Center and other organizations to try to figure out what’s the best way that we can give these resources to these students. The sexual assault town hall was amazing, and it was in the spring, and we’re wondering if there’s a way that we can mold that sort of resource to get more students involved.
Connell: We’re working with the resources that DEPTH Peer Educators provide … They’re willing to go out and give these presentations because that’s what they’re trained on. Even in the residence halls, which will have a large impact considering the new first-year living requirement, so if we can prompt people to use that as a resource within the residence halls and student organizations early on in the year, and it could be as simple as saying, “this is an option” because a lot of people don’t know that they can come to them.
Q: What are your plans for handling the current status of racial tensions on campus?
Gonzalez: Going off what I said about peer education … [it’s important] that students know about these resources on campus. I think a lot of organizations have a great presence at the beginning of the year and throughout the year to get first-years involved. I think one of the things we want to focus on is just making sure that students are connecting with these resources in creative ways, not just having typical fairs and trying to figure out how to get students involved with these events that are happening on campus, not just slapping them in the face with something like a racial climate town hall that not everyone wants to go to. Not everyone feels comfortable going to something as public as that. We’re making sure we both have innovative and creative ideas, and that’s what our departments will help foster.
Connell: As well as being integrators within our community. I think that’s a good first step to understanding what the issues are because I would not have known that the Asian-American students were concerned about not being represented in MSA unless I had been at one of those meetings and heard about it. A big concern with the multicultural community is that over in the Counseling Center … the role of multi-cultural coordinator within the Counseling Center has not been filled to help facilitate those meetings. So, being integrated within the community so that we’re there firsthand, understanding what’s going on, as well as educating ourselves further. Upcoming is Islam Awareness Week, and that’s something we’re participating in pretty soon.
Mia Connell, a sophomore studying sociology, is running for student body vice president.
