Andrew Friedson hates socks.
After spending many a night hunched over his keyboard attending to business, former Student Government Association President Friedson would relax by taking off his socks and shoes to better enjoy the simple pleasure of bare feet on carpet, he said.
“Hey, to serve the student body, you have to be comfortable,” he said.
But in his tenure as SGA president, Friedson, a senior government and politics major, said he endured many days and weeks that were anything but comfortable.
“I’ve had weeks where I slept four or five hours collectively from Sunday to Friday… It would have been difficult to do more,” Friedson said.
He soon found sleep was not the only thing he had to sacrifice to “effectively” do his job – time with his friends and family had to go as well, he said.
“People ask me, ‘Why you do this?'” he said. “But if I could physically handle doing it all over again, I would.”
Throughout his tenure, Friedson successfully lobbied on the city, state and national level for student-friendly legislation, working closely with state lobbyists as well as university administrators. In the SGA itself, Friedson attempted to step up the organization’s accountability and outreach, and while critics acknowledge improvement, they say the student government has a long way to go in terms of improving student relations.
During his term, Friedson fought hard to uphold the promises he made in his campaign while tackling new issues as they arose.
“I was very impressed with how personally he took some of the issues he faced,” said Daozhong Jin, former SGA Chief of Staff. “He would get genuinely upset. He was really able to empathize with students and with events like the noose and sexual harassment issues. He wanted to do everything he could to help.”
But other SGA officials have recognized this level of dedication and perfectionism often led Friedson to have trouble delegating tasks to other members of the organizations.
“[Friedson] was kind of a micromanager,” said former Speaker of the Legislature Nick Chamberlain, who added that unlike past administrations, there was relatively little friction between the executive and legislative branches of the SGA. “He set high standards for everyone, even himself, and he wanted to make sure things got done right.”
Matthew Verghese, current SGA Chief of Staff, similarly took a critical view but also had praise for Friedson.
“Having seen four SGA presidents, I think that, despite having disagreed with him on certain issues, I admire him a lot,” he said. “He raised the bar on what you expect from the SGA.”
The SGA took stands this year on many issues that affect students, such as the Purple Line alignment and Good Samaritan policy. Though Friedson said he thinks the SGA’s endorsements may not have been the most popular, he thinks they were ultimately in the best interest of the student body – the kind of standard Friedson said he tries to bring to every facet of his job.
“The role of SGA president is really weird, because it’s actually two jobs: You’re the student body’s advocate and representative, but you’re also the president of the SGA organization,” Friedson said. “There were times when my role as student body president conflicted with my role as SGA president. Students always win that tie.”
And Friedson has tried to show that commitment, mainly by supporting a cut in the SGA’s budget. Though the budget was the lowest proposal in years, the Finance Committee voted to leave the pool of student activities fees to other groups in need and augment the budget by moving funding around within the budget. The move made the SGA “take the hit” but also kept the burden off student groups.
On the city level, the SGA successfully opposed District 3 City Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich’s bill to extend the length of time repeat noise violation offenders could be doubly fined. Friedson, who always made a point to attend city council meetings, delivered nearly 900 letters from students to the council to demonstrate students opposition to the bill. Stullich eventually decided to drop the legislation.
In accordance with his campaign platform, Friedson not only addressed local issues but brought the fight to the Capitol and Statehouse steps, pushing for legislation to ensure education access and affordability for students.
Friedson lobbied state lawmakers to pass a textbook regulation bill and to boost state funding for College Park Police. Though both measures failed, Friedson touted this session’s textbook discussions as a success because the issue grew so large that it is likely to continue in some form next year.
On the national level, Friedson led an SGA lobbying effort in Washington where students urged Congress to pass the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. The act will provide roughly $20 billion in financial aid over the next five years, and Friedson considers his lobbying for the legislation one of the great successes of his term.
“This is the first-ever dedicated bill on funding, and its success is due in large part to student activism,” Friedson said.
“He’s a tough act to follow,” Graduate Student Government President Laura Moore said of Friedson. “He’s done a great job of lobbying on behalf of students.”
But after a year of living and breathing his dual and demanding roles as SGA president and student, Friedson must hand over the reins of the governing body to a new administration, leaving behind a legacy he hopes will guide and inspire future student leaders.
Friedson cited outreach, accountability and “inclusivity” as key standards he felt his administration touted, but said there is still a long way to go.
“We are the largest, most important outreach organization on campus and we still need to do more,” he said. “In order for the SGA to be a perfect organization, it needs all 26,000 of its members to be perfect. I challenge students to use the resources available to them and come to [the SGA] for help. It’s what we’re here for.”
Verghese agreed.
“[The SGA] should have gone out there and got more direct student support. We should have been going out the student body and getting them involved,” Verghese said of the SGA and its initiatives in Annapolis. “It’s not just about one person; it’s about the organization, and we need to have everyone as involved.”
SGA President Jonathan Sachs said while Friedson improved the SGA as an organization, there was much to be learned from the shortcomings of his administration.
“Andrew worked tirelessly, and it’s really inspiring, but there’s a lot [the SGA] can still do better,” Sachs said. “The idea of transparency, for example; even though [Friedson] talked a lot about transparency, how can something be transparent if no one is looking?”
Sachs said his administration will work in the coming year to improve SGA-student relations and outreach, an issue which has been a recurring problem with the organization.
While Friedson said he is adjusting to the letting go at the end of his term, he has high hopes for the SGA in coming years.
“When you put your heart and soul into a position, it becomes more than that, it becomes an idea,” he said. “Advocating for students is not just a position, it’s something you just do, and that doesn’t just end when you stop being SGA president.”
Friedson will go from his role as SGA president to a place in real-world politics as the lead organizer for a Democratic Coordinator campaign in Prince William County, Va., starting in June. He said he will remain in touch with the incoming SGA administration and hopes they will come to him for advice.
Friedson said though he spent most of his undergraduate career in politics, he does not know what his future holds. Nevertheless, he said he will carry the lessons he has learned as SGA president.
“I want to change the world,” he said. “I just haven’t figured out how yet.”
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