In the current Student Government elections, Garrison Seitz, a second-year student in civil engineering and student body treasurer, is running uncontested to remain in his role.
As the head of the Treasury Branch of Student Government, the student body treasurer leads a team responsible for managing the Student Government budget, facilitating the appropriations process, working with appropriations and finance committees, and working on initiatives from tuition and fees to internal auditing.
Having past experience with Student Government, Seitz joined Student Government two years ago as a senator for the College of Engineering. Having served this year as student body treasurer, he looks to continue serving in that role next term.
“Serving in the role I’m running for this past year equips me with an understanding of how it operates, so leadership-wise, I feel I’ve learned how to delegate and how to manage the treasury this year, and I definitely have new ideas and new ways to do that coming forward to this next session,” Seitz said. “I can hopefully establish the treasury branch as a larger unit within Student Government to facilitate the appropriations process.”
Looking to apply his experience in office, Seitz looks forward to dealing with the transition to a new adviser. Also, he has learned what financial struggles student organizations face and is willing to offer help.
“We’re getting a new adviser within Student Government, and I want to ensure the transitional process goes smoothly,” Seitz said. “I’m actually the only student body officer that is not graduating this year, so having previously held an officer position helps the continuity of Student Government. Additionally, I want to help students and particularly student organizations better understand financial management.”
Seitz has seen the completion of multiple projects while serving his current role as student body treasurer and isn’t done yet in this current term.
“I was a part of establishing the advisory council within the Personnel Committee, and I restructured the Treasury Branch,” said Seitz. “I also facilitated the appropriations process and finance disbursement process. I am currently working on the budget for the next session as well.”
As for what Student Government as a whole should move toward, Seitz made sure to mention the need to connect more with students, regardless of what form that outreach takes.
“I’d like to see Student Government outreach to students more,” said Seitz. “We do a good job advocating and trying to understand student concerns, but one thing I’m proposing in our current budget for the next session is a line item specifically for outreach and connecting with students solely for that initiative. I think if we’re actually going to be for the students, we need to be out there more and understanding student concerns.”
Next year will be Student Government’s 100th session, and Seitz is notably the only student body officer not graduating this year, allowing his experience to be a potential strength. Students will be able to vote all day on Monday, March 2 and Tuesday, March 3 through the GetInvolved website.
