A year ago, newly elected SGA President Steve Glickman described an apathetic student body that his organization would need to energize.
As Glickman was sworn in for a second term yesterday afternoon — an occurrence that hasn’t happened in more than a decade — he said the success of some Student Government Association initiatives have demonstrated that students can be enthusiastic, but even still, the organization’s work is “just beginning.”
The SGA “laid the foundation for what you will build upon this year,” he told a group of about 50 students, largely comprised of the incoming legislators, assembled on McKeldin Mall. “Each generation of the SGA goes further than the generation that precedes it, because it stands on the shoulders of the generation that preceded it.”
This year’s transition will be less jarring than in recent years, as Glickman doesn’t need to change roles and his Your Party swept the cabinet seats and took 26 of 36 legislative seats.
Your Party’s control of the cabinet will also quash some tensions between opponents within the body — most notably between Glickman and former Vice President of Finance Andrew Steinberg, who challenged him for the top spot in the SGA this year.
But Glickman and his colleagues will have more to deal with than the makeup of the organization, with the upcoming gubernatorial election and a new university president’s arrival on the horizon.
“It will be the SGA’s responsibility to lobby the candidates and encourage students to make an educated decision,” he said of the election. “I see this as an opportunity to rise above our peers and reach a new level of public education.”
As for the incoming university president, Glickman promised the SGA would remain active in the selection dialogue throughout the summer and make establishing communication with the new president a priority.
Vice President for Student Affairs Linda Clement swore in Glickman and the new executives and legislators, joking that she usually asks the outgoing president to give the incoming president advice.
“Many people have called me crazy to do this again,” Glickman told the crowd, later saying the SGA has become his home.
Although he did not go into specific plans for the year, Glickman made a point of referencing what he has pushed for this past year, including environmental sustainability and efforts to help students in need of financial aid.
“If we do the things that we are capable of, we will astound ourselves,” he said.
Outgoing Speaker of the Legislature Kelley Chubb also addressed the audience, first reflecting on the year and then offering some advice for the incoming SGA, asking legislators not to take on too many initiatives and to communicate effectively with each other.
“Don’t take yourself too seriously,” she said. “SGA is a student group, too, just like everything else.”
aisaacs at umdbk dot com
