Letter to the Editor

My Fellow Jaguars:
During the short year that I have held office, we have managed to make great strides in advancing the student body of our beloved institution. After being sworn in as the 66th President of the Student Government, I entered office with the high ideal of creating a more well-rounded undergraduate population. Unlike any other president before me, I completed my platform in record time, improving our quality of collegiate life, both financially and academically. First, we successfully negotiated with community businesses to gain discounts on purchases with a valid student ID card, and next, in order to help students perform to the best of their academic abilities, we partnered with the faculty senate and top administrators at Southern University to institute a break between the last day of class and final examinations, the “dead days” that we are presently enjoying. Although all these wonderful things were achieved, we again made history by purchasing books for the student body. In short, this year’s SGA Administration created the “Ivory M. Berry” Textbook Assistance Program, a program through which students can visit the library and check-out the textbooks needed for their courses without any cost to them.
Though a typical President would have been satisfied with these accomplishments, I have always wanted more for the student body. In order to better our institution’s image and improve student health, this administration convinced Music Television (MTV) to highlight Southern University through its newest television series, MTV University’s “Student Bodies”, a nationally syndicated program that transforms overweight students into healthy and productive scholars. In addition, we have worked hard to restore that jaguar pride to our campus by creating the new tradition of “I Love SU Friday’s”: mini-events that were held on random Fridays on campus throughout the year to inspire school spirit. In addition, while we were achieving all these wonderful things, your President not only represented you well at home, but I represented the best that Southern has to offer as the Chairman of the Louisiana Council of Student Body Presidents, and defended the interests of the more than 197,000 students enrolled in Louisiana’s public higher education institutions.
Although these achievements are great, it is the lesser known accomplishments of this year’s SGA that I am most proud of. Responding to the concerns that students had nothing to do on weekends, as an example, this administration worked hard to successfully pull-off the first-ever Student Government Association Haunted House, in collaboration with the Departments of Computer Science, Speech and Theater, the Association for Women Students, and Men’s Federation. Through this endeavor, we proved the strength of our University when we all work together. In addition to this, as President of the Student Government, I also worked hard to secure a position on the university’s academic calendar committee, and through these efforts, we achieved the new addition of a Fall Break into the academic calendar.
Not only did we change the academic calendar, but this year’s SGA administration also fought hard and overcame the challenges of the new, on-campus apartments and successfully lobbied to created the first co-educational housing facility in the Southern University System in the midst of great turmoil. Even in the face of staunch adversity, we also successfully navigated the Student Government during record budget cuts and freezes, but more importantly, as the keynote speaker at the first annual scholarship benefit dinner hosted by SU Alum, Avery Johnson, head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, I, along with Dr. Ralph Slaughter, helped to raise over $200,000 in need-based financial aid for students who needed it.
Although some would disagree, as president, I believe that the role of our Student Government is not only to protect and defend the interests of current students, but to ensure the satisfaction and happiness of future students. As a result of this belief, and in an attempt to address the severely low enrollment numbers facing the university, this year’s SGA held the first ever East Baton Rouge Parishwide Prep-Rally. In an attempt to inspire the university to enhance its recruitment efforts, every eighth, tenth, and eleventh grade student was invited on campus for a mini-concert, motivational speech, and other entertainment and instructional lessons, to encourage them to do well on the LEAP/GEE and performance based testing. In short, your Student Government Association worked hard for you this year.
My fellow jaguars, the road of leadership is not one that is easily traveled, but the opportunities we have had, the growth that we have experienced, and the obstacles that we have overcome throughout the course of this past year have been remarkable. As the sun is setting on my time as President, I sincerely thank each of you for the opportunity to serve, and as we look to the dawn of a new day, I wish our new government the best of luck and unprecedented success. Let us all, as members of the mighty Jaguar Nation, continue to endeavor in jaguar pride and excellence, together. Farewell.
Still moving in the right direction,
Carey L. H. Ash,
66th Southern University SGA President