Uni Point Day Pictures and Commentary, the Interim Carousel, Dining Issues, Concord Card changes, Change machine, Officer Pay, and Ad Hoc Committees

Hello students of Concord,

Yesterday had to have been the most interesting day of my presidency so far. As everyone knows, there has been quite a few interesting pieces of news at Concord the past few weeks, but it keeps getting better. A few weeks ago, Greg Quick invited me to University Point Press Day, so I decided that I would do my best to slick up and attend this event. I'm glad that I did because I helped to represent the students in a ceremonial role while there, and at the same time, I gained some unique insights on the project. Business Manager Belcher and Concordian Editor Wendy Holdren also participated in the Press Day. As you can see from this picture on the Concord website, I look completely ridiculous in the hard hat as I go through the work zone.



This building has a unique history. It was conceptualized by former President Marsh, who tried to find donations for it over the course of time. The project costed $5.7 million in the long haul. Marsh apparently had a vision of a building like this on campus, and several alumni bought into it. The building has had some generous benefactors, several of which were at the event. I thought that Greg Quick did an admirable job of making them feel welcome to Concord and thanking them for their help, but let's continue onward. As we walked into the building, the first thing we looked at was the new alumni office. It will be set up for conferences and all kinds of great things. We also saw a large room that would be fit for something like a wedding reception. Unfortunately, Concord did not post any pictures of these rooms on their website, but perhaps Wendy might be able to improvise as she took pictures herself in a future blog. All of these rooms are looking quite eloquent, and they have nice views and take advantage of the natural light. One thing that I did notice, however, was the lack of classroom space. During our tour, I only noticed one classroom, which really disappoints me. Over the course of time, the previous administration promised students that things like a philosophy and religion curriculum could be taught at University Point, but I honestly did not see the room for it. The classroom looked about the size of Admin 300, and I can't see too much potential for academics over there. This really was a low blow for students in my opinion, as it destroyed any practical benefit that the building offered. Despite this, I think that we should still fight to have these things taught in this building, even if we have to use the alumni office to do it. In the fall, I will speak to Professor Manzione who is in charge of the Philosophy curriculum in order to see what the current status of having classes over there is. I know that he has fought to have a History w/ Emphasis in Religion program over there, but his reasonable requests have largely gone unheeded.

The actual "chapel", which has been the front for having a glorified alumni office, also opened. The room will appear to look quite beautiful. Here is a picture:



In this room, we had our press conference. Dr. Aloia, Greg Quick, BOG Chair Mr. Long, and the donors all spoke to the press about the building. One speaker whom I remember particularly well spoke highly about how this building would help the "faculty, staff, and alumni." Let me think about that--who is missing? Mr. Quick was gracious enough to acknowledge my presence during the meeting, and afterward, I had the chance to mingle with some of the donors and the architects of the building. I also had the chance to give a moment of reflection at the dinner afterward. The picture Concord took of me after the reception was quite amusing because the look on my face seems to be a look of blown away disbelief.



All in all, the trip was quite insightful indeed. The building really has no tangible benefits for students--not unless classes can be taught there. I encourage students of various religions to use the facilities, but I am concerned that some religions that are not quite understood may not be tolerated. My greatest hope is that the building turn into a cash cow for the University so that it can help students avoid gigantic tuition raises. I do believe in the vision Greg Quick is presenting in his role as Interim VP, and I know that he will probably have success in reaching out to the alumni to use the facilities. It can be used to have weddings, hold receptions, have Concord dinners for alumni, hold conferences; the building has many possibilities. It's just up to Greg Quick to take advantage of them and to be able to justify building it. I do not quite know if even the tangible benefits of building this "University Alumni Center" can outweigh the $5.7 million dollars it costed to build it. Students have fought this measure for years, and largely, they have lost. We cannot help it though, nor can Dr. Aloia really for that matter as this issue largely preceded him. It was the attempt of Concord to keep reaching back into the nineteenth century rather than to progress into the twenty-first. As University Point begins to open, I can promise you though that the SGA will give the administration an earful along with the faculty in increasing our academic programs over there.

In other news--the interim carousel seems to be reaching no end. An Interim Student Center Director still has not been found. A new interim Associate Academic Dean is needed. I spoke with a few faculty, and many of them are concerned. Several told me that they heard about the latest appointments way after they happened, and they largely had no consultation on the issue. It just seems to me as if Dr. Aloia is alienating both faculty and students with his rash decisions. OR, Dr. Aloia consults various groups about who he might want for an administrative post, except students. In a way, this reminds me of the issue SGA largely faced last year. Even though Dr. Aloia is not technically required to ask us about his interim appointments, the question is, should he at least do so anyway to reach out to us? Face it, we are not a group of idiots; we are a savvy group of students at Concord, and we're demanding a voice. Yesterday, the SGA Executive Board agreed to send a letter of disapproval to Dr. Aloia over largely ignoring students. It will take me a while to draft it, but I am using my discretion as President this summer to largely act in the interests of SGA in sending such a letter with the board's permission. We do not intend on being harsh or reprimanding in tone, but we do intend on reminding him that in order to run a university, we must work together as a unified team. My administration is willing to work and compromise with the Uni. administration, so long as he is willing to do the same thing. Either way, I want to publically acknowledge whoever made the new interim cartoon; it was great.

Dining issues update! According to Rick, each dorm is receiving a renovation to its kitchen facilities. South Towers is receiving one now. I am pleased to hear this. Next year, North Towers will receive one, and then Sarvay following Wooddell last. I also spoke to Rick about perhaps allowing students to use their flex dollars at Gino's. He said that Gino's would be willing to do this, but he feared that our current technology might not be able to do it. After he said that, I mentioned that perhaps the SGA and Housing could work together on getting a card similar to the system that Marshall University has. He is willing to work with us on that. If the negotiations go well, we could perhaps get an updated system next year, as it would largely take the University buying the software required to run it since the software is used by many other colleges. It would in essence be a one stop card--use it to get into the dorms (which would be an effective sign in for opposite sex visitation, you could use it in the library, you could use your flex dollars, you could make it a debit card, there are many possibilities. You can ask any Marshall student what it does. The bottom line is that I want this issue resolved by the end of my administration, and I plan on working with the Housing Committee to see that this happens.

Another thing I mentioned was the possibility of acquiring a change machine for the Student Center. The problem with change machines is that they don't make any money, so companies largely don't have them anymore. As everyone knows, it's very difficult to get change around campus. Rick mentioned that such a machine might cost a few thousand, and he could help the SGA for the cost of one. Or, he could negotiate with Aramark at the end of next year to make sure that a change machine comes down in a deal. So, it is up to the students to tell me what to do. We can either get one now, or wait a year to get one for free. I'd appreciate some feedback.

The SGA Executive Board also settled the officer pay issue. Many executives felt disgruntled at their initial pay cut, so we agreed to some cuts that everyone seemed to feel comfortable with. The VP again got another raise from the last cut we proposed.

President--$400. Previously made $450 per month
Vice President--$325. Previously made $200
Business Manager--$350. Previously made $425
Attorney General--$325. Previously made $350
Public Defender--$325. Previously made $350.
Ombudsman--$325. Previously made $350.
Secretary--$250. Previously made $350.
Parliamentarian--$0. Previously made $50.
Chief Justice--$325. Previously made $425.
Prime Justice--$200. Previously made $200.

This resolved the Prime Justice pay conflict over new duties taking the place of old ones. We're paying her the same. Besides the Vice President, cuts were made across the board, and Business Manager Belcher said that this would cut about $3,250 per year. That's not bad to say the least. Everyone seemed happy about it, so hopefully there will not be anymore issues over this policy.

Also, I wanted to announce some ad-hoc committees that I plan on introducing to the SGA this fall. It will definitely be a year for reform. Some mentioned are:

Multicultural Affairs--Chaired by VP Akeya Carter Bozman
Judicial Reform--Chaired by AG Bill Lewis
Budgetary Reform--Chaired by BM Matthew Belcher
Tuition and Fees--Chaired by BOG Rep Curtis Kearns
Energy Conservation Committee--unknown chairman

Hopefully there will be more.

In the next few days, I plan on finding answers about the military accommodation policy, which has apparently become buried since the Cook Administration. Senator Hicks called me to remind me about it, and I think that this should definitely be a policy that is enacted. I am also going to check into getting 2 more tables for the Gazebo/Pavilion in order to get more space; Sean Noland and I both concluded that we could fit more. I am also going to check on another green issue that Senator Hicks mentioned to me about conserving in the dorms. Yesterday was a 10 hour day for me as your President, so I will talk more on these issues in the next blog.

Oh--one more thing. Ombudsman Brittany Keys will serve on the search committee to find a new librarian to replace Mr. Turnbull. And yes, it's not interim!

Until next time,

President Yeager

Important Dining News and Updates, New Academic Dean, New Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students, Student Center & Library Update,

Hello Concordians,

It has just been a few days since I last blogged to you from the President's Desk, but the past few days have been some eventful ones at Concord. I have heard some news that I am going to share with you--news that will probably be confirmed on Monday (It was confirmed to me from various conversations with various people). I'm also going to give you an update on various projects that I have been looking into.

The first thing I will discuss--Dining. Before I officially became President, an ad hoc commitee was formed with me, Marshall Campbell, and Rick Dillon in an attempt to renegotiate the contract with Aramark. In this attempt, we have gained quite a few incentives for students (I have to hand it to both Marshall and Rick over myself on this one--it seemed as if I was only a mere participant during our meetings because they did most of the talking.) Here is what you will receive, starting this fall:

1. The Dining Hall will be open for dinner until 7 PM this fall, from Sunday through Thursday night. This will allow many more students to eat, and it will also allow students more flexibility who have athletics and night classes.

2. The Dining Hall will create a new station that will serve "ready to order" rice/noodles, proteins, and veggies. In other words, a student will select a starch, the meat/poultry, seafood, and then be stirfried before serving.

3. Dining is going to add $7.50 in flex dollars for both semesters. So, you will have $7.50 more on both the 12 meal and 7 meal plan in the fall, and an additional $7.50 in the spring.

When I served on this committee, one point I attempted to make was that if board money increases, students should likewise see a service given to them in return. The extra hour of dining and the other incentives are certainly a good start. As I mentioned, I plan on being very hard on Dining this year. My SGA will come down on them hard on certain issues, and they will not get away with some of their asinine quirks. One thing that really ticked me off in the past was when they yelled at you for taking an apple out of the cafeteria. Well, I'm sorry--but when you pay $1800 for a meal plan, you should be able to roll in apples.

Speaking of meal plans, I have had a lively debate with Rick Dillon about this in the past week. He has brought out several interesting points as to why students "must" get a meal plan. For one, the dormitories are not equipped to prepare food. Another point Rick brought out is that if a great deal of food was allowed in the dormitories, cockroaches would invade. Cockroaches of course are an expensive, disgusting problem. It was hard for me to disagree with his points; however, they still did not persuade me as to why students must accept a plan with no choice. I told him that a student who wanted to save money could easily make a pop tart for breakfast, eat a ham sandwhich and a banana or something for lunch, and then go to the cafeteria or Subway for dinner if he/she chooses. I also told him that if the food preparation in the dormitories is so subpar, why not improve upon that? I feel that a student should have the option to fix a frozen pizza or fry a hamburger if that student so chooses. Basically, the college is arguing that because their facilities are so awful, you have to get this service. The only way a sick student can get out of the plan is if they practically waive all of their privacy by allowing a doctor to divulge this information to a group of people on a committee who are clearly not qualified to judge the severity of any medical condition. However, Rick does say that if the Dining Hall does not accomodate a student's needs, they want to know immediately (I.E. like the comment SGA Secretary Eric Lopez made as a comment to my last blog on facebook). This is going to be an interesting discussion over the next year, and even if I can't get them to change this policy, let's hope that we can at least build the way there by helping to improve dormitory food preparation facilities.

The second piece of news is that several administrators have transferred to new interim jobs. This hasn't been announced by Concord yet, but many people already know about it. Dr. John David Smith has been moved to Interim Vice President and Academic Dean. Marjie Flanigan from the Academic Success Office will take John David's role of Interim VP for Student Affairs, and Rick Dillon will be the interim Dean of Students (a job he has done at Concord in the past), as well as still be Housing Director. Based on what I have heard, Dr. Smith was promoted to Academic Dean without the consent of either the students or the faculty (this job really concerns the faculty more than the students. If the faculty was not consulted, then I am eager to see their reaction. However, I cannot verify for sure whether the faculty had no say). Flanigan and Dillon were also both promoted to heading over issues of John David's old job, and this definitely did not occur with the consent of the students by having a representative on a hiring committee. I am personally insulted by this--because it does not appear that the voice of the SGA truly matters to Dr. Aloia, and I am the President who has been seeking compromise. I am, however, not yet taking an official stance on this issue nor am I moving the SGA to do so either because I do not yet know all the details, and even when I do, I want to ask the SGA Executive Board to come up with a stance first. You will likely see a resolution about this in our first Senate meeting. Flanigan is a nice lady, and Rick, contrary to popular belief, does advocate for students. I cannot say that these were the right choices, nor can I say how could I be the judge of that when the administrators in charge of students did not allow any input from the SGA on these hires.

Furthermore, I have also received an update on the Student Center Director. I will not divulge a lot of personal details about the candidates--because I promised not to, but basically, both candidates are still in the running; however, certain issues exist for both of them as to why they might not be taking the job at this moment. The possibility may occur that the Hiring Committee might have to reconvene in order to find another candidate if it ends up that both Billy and Abe choose not to take the position. Either way, it's going to keep dragging on for a while.

The last update is that Dr. Aloia confirmed that the library opening longer will cost the students $2,000 in both the fall and spring semesters. I discussed this in Chris Slater's blog when the news first came out. I have my philosophy on this--I feel that it is one step back in order to make two steps forward. This is not a permanent fix; if it works and students show, the admin. is likely to keep it open permanently. Because the students are demanding, and because the admin. is looking to make a wise investment and not waste their money, it is a compromise between two opposing entities. The library will be open until midnight, Monday through Thursday, and it will be open from 12-6 on Saturday rather than 12-4. This is, of course, pending approval of the Student Senate the first meeting of the year, which I certainly hope to see.

I will be on campus for "University Point Press Day" on July 22. Greg Quick's Institutional Advancement Committee that I serve on will be in charge of this. The administration, President Boggess of the faculty, myself, and others will take a tour with the press of University Point that day. If anyone would like to see me that day and talk about issues, let me know. I will also go with Sean Noland that day probably to look at the Pavilion (the new name for the Gazebo) to check and see if the SGA could perhaps fit more tables for picnic room there.

Until next time,

President Yeager

July Update: Student Center Director Update and Forced Meal Plans

Hello all,

I hope that everyone is enjoying a fantastic summer. Mine has been going fairly well, and as it progresses, I continually look forward to working for you in the fall. I am writing this blog to update you briefly on perhaps analyzing both of the potential choices for the Student Center Director position in the fall. I am also going to update you on my stumbling onto one of many of the university's problematic policies--its forcing on campus students to pay for a meal plan.

So everyone knows, I am continually studying to be an effective leader from the start this year. I have reviewed further over our Constitution and Bylaws (which still have not been updated--something that the President should not have to do but is going to have to do in order to have a good copy for the start of the fall), and I see many problems to hand over to the SGA Affairs committee this year. Likewise, I am studying Robert's Rules closely as well in order to be a competent chairman. We do not need our long Senate meetings (if I have anything to say about it, they will be long because we'll be doing a lot) dragged on even longer by questions over parliamentary procedure, just as it was last year.

With that said, I hope that I am not divulging too much information when I say that the Student Center Director, whose job duties monitor the Student Center, help SAC plan activities, is in charge of the community service committee, and whose job duties signifies that he/she be SGA Advisor (which is in direct conflict with our Constitution--which gives me the ability to appoint a staff advisor) has come down to two candidates. Billy Fraley and Abe Lilly, who both have histories with Housing as RD's, have both went to Dr. Aloia from the committee's consideration. The committee to select the director interviewed 3 people, and just from the way the committee was leaning (it is Dr. Aloia's ultimate decision--he can pick any of the 3 who applied), it will come down to either one of those 2 gentlemen. I was personally impressed with both interviews. Billy was my RD in Wooddell during my first two years. He is quite competent and capable. Abe of course RD's South Tower and has had conflicts with SGA in the past. He is though, of course, a very hands on kind of guy, which the Director should be. It will be interesting to see who Dr. Aloia chooses. I feel that both will be fine in the position, although I'm sure that both will handle the management duties of the Senate in different ways, coinciding alongside Dr. Brichford, who has agreed to be our faculty advisor again. I felt that all 3 people were certainly qualified who interviewed, hence the committee's inability to choose. It has almost been a month since I served on the committee as well, so I hope that the good resumes have Dr. Aloia scratching his head as well.

Another issue I want to talk about in this short blog is the Board plan. In my attempt to economize and shorten my budget for the fall, I have been inquiring about my ability to perhaps stay on campus (with lack of rental property available) and drop a meal plan. I found out that this was not possible, even with a letter from a doctor. When I spoke to one of the people in charge, he said that the cafeteria would try to "accomodate" your food needs, even if you have a condition (I have an endocrine system condition where if I do not get enough water and nutrients of a certain kind I can dehydrate quickly and have to be hospitalized). He mentioned that the cafeteria even made baked chicken for one kid all year. Considering that the board plan costs an arm and a leg, and considering that the food we get in return for the money is less than subpar (You could almost eat at Applebee's 5 days a week for what you are paying for this), I find this policy highly outrageous. Students should not have to pay for a plan if they have cheaper, better alternatives. Instead, Aramark and Concord have practically conspired to create a food monopoly of sorts on campus, where we are all forced like little children to adopt a meal plan. This is very problematic. It's no wonder that our food does not get any better, each and every year; they know that they pretty much have us by the throat. I am sure that 98% of students who stay on campus would choose to get a meal plan if a choice was enacted, but as your President, I feel that you should have a choice and that you should not have to pay for a service that you do not want. Because of my stumbling into this issue, this will be a new initiative for us to tackle in the fall--giving on campus students a choice. You should not have to be forced to pay for something you do not want; it is your basic right to at least have that fundamental choice. This is one of many dining issues that I want to address. The Dining Committee over the past few years has been very friendly to the administrators of Dining (to the point that the Executive Board last year attempted to fire the chairman of the committee). Under my presidency, I am going to encourage VP Akeya Carter Bozman to appoint a fiery personality to chair that committee. Being exploited by College Dining has got to stop. It is time that the SGA change its philosophy to dining, or else we will be eating cardboard and drinking oil (I think Aramark food is more expensive than a crude barrel) for breakfast. If need be, I will chair the committee myself.

Until I blog again, cheers to the students. I wish you all well, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer.

President Yeager

Summer Update: Appointments, Committees, Plans, and Student Loan News

Hello all,

It has been a while since I have written to you from the President's Desk, but the Student Government at Concord University naturally slows down during the summer. As a matter of fact, I am the entire government during the summer, but considering that I am not on campus this summer, my actions are limited. I have asked Attorney General Lewis to look over day to day affairs in our government and report to me on anything that needs my attention. Besides that, I am continually planning for big things in the fall myself, and I hope to have a large agenda to show to the Executive Board during our planning stages for the fall before we go back to school.

Everyone knows that my administration thus far is going to be taking a small pay cut as well as pay half in keeping the library hours open longer, pending Senate approval. I look forward to seeing people be able to study longer and thus have more flexibility in the fall. By showing the administration that we will make use of our increased hours, we can persuade them to adopt a long term policy.

Besides the library issue, several new things have come up. As everyone knows, Marshall Campbell is now the Human Resources Director at Concord University. I applaud this selection of Dr. Aloia, for I feel that Marshall will do the job to the best of his ability, and he is undoubtedly the most qualified person for that position. Unfortunately, that leaves the SGA in a bit of a dilemma. It has traditionally been the role of the Student Center Director to be the SGA Staff Advisor. As a matter of fact, according to former President Noland, being an advisor to the SGA is a part of the job duties. Fortunately enough, I am going to be traveling to Concord whenever the hiring committee for the new Student Center Director takes place, and I will personally be a part of that university committee. I will make sure that I advocate for the person that I see fit. I am not yet sure who has applied, but I will be an effective voice for students. However, let it be known that I will not automatically select the Student Center Director for the staff advisor if I do not feel that that person might be the best fit for SGA. I have not yet spoken to Marshall about still being the staff advisor. We would all welcome him to return, but if he chooses not to, we have a dilemma on our hands. What I'm saying is that just because someone might be the Student Center Director might not mean that they be our official advisor. That person is likely to get the position, but if that person has known to have a bad record with SGA, I will be immensely skeptical in selecting that person. As a part of the job duties, the Student Center Director would have to advise the SGA, but that does not mean that that certain person would be the official advisor. With that said, I am also going to contact Dr. Brichford to see if he will represent the Faculty again, which I'm very sure that he will do.

Besides the Student Center Director committee, I am also serving on Coach Quick's Human Institutional Development advisory committee. During our initial meeting (we've had 1), most of the administration, the President of the Faculty, myself, and a few others discussed ways that the institution could work on obtaining funding so that it could avoid another tuition raise. There was not much of anything of interest for me to discuss beyond basic ways of reaching out to alumni and whatnot. I mentioned that it might be good for the committee to formulate a mission statement of what it hopes to achieve and then follow through with its plan. One possible thing that they might do is have high caliber weddings at University Point once it is completed. As a place to hold weddings, University Point could definitely rake in some cash for the University. Based on the committee, I, like Board Member Kearns, have complete confidence in Mr. Quick in this role. I think he is a very personable man who can communicate well with people. I believe that he will be very friendly with SGA, and it will undoubtedly be interesting to work with him during Higher Ed day this coming year (which will be an interesting thing for me to do as well, considering that I haven't even gotten to do that yet, considering my brother had a birthday during the last one).

Other things of minor interest--I have appointed Curtis Kearns and Vice President Bozman to serve on a summer university committee for Marshall Campbell to serve as student representatives in an advisory role similar to the one that I am serving on for Mr. Quick. I have also appointed Curtis to the Academic Dean search committee. Dr. Rowe is only in that job for an interim role, and Curtis will be looking for his permanent replacement. Considering that Curtis will be working with the Academic Dean in the future with policy, I thought he would be a great choice, and he will undoubtedly be our advocate behind closed doors. This is an example of a decision that I, the President, had to make during the summer while the Senate was not in session. Curtis will be confirmed for the full time role in the fall.

Judicial Reform planning is also getting underway. We managed to do a lot during the time that I chaired the committee last year as Attorney General. Several questions still loom over our Judicial Board though. We still have a few procedural issues we need to clear up. Full restrictions is still a faulty system of sanctions that cannot be enforced, and the community service plan we made last year has the ability to fall on its face from a lack of service opportunities if many people get sanctioned to it. We still need something else--we just have to decide what. There's a lot the committee still needs to do. During the first meeting of the year, I plan on re-starting this ad-hoc committee, and I will most likely appoint Attorney General Bill Lewis as the chair. Although Bill has not yet put his feet in Judicial waters, he will learn quickly, and I feel that he will be an effective moderator of debate, similar to the hands off approach that I took to leading the committee last year. As the President, I serve on all committees, so I will be advocating for more reform behind closed doors. Since I am no longer the Chair, I also look forward to putting more of my own ideas out there.

One last thing I wanted to make students aware of is loans. I know that many students have to take loans, especially with tuition raises and whatnot. Although I have had a full scholarship as an ALEF fellow, there is the possibility of even me losing my scholarship this year due to issues that have arisen within ALEF that I will not get into, despite the fact I have a great GPA, due to some issues that I won't discuss. With that being said, I have done some research on loans. If you are currently thinking of taking a loan for the fall, do NOT do it until after July. Interest rates are going down to an all time low due to things going on in Obama's stimulus. If you want to read for yourself, check out this link:

http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/525-interest-rates-on-federal-education-loans-to-drop-july-1

One more thing--I have been asked to look into getting a boxing speed bag and a boxing bag for the fitness center. More news on that later--it completely slipped my mind until I went looking through some e-mails. I will contact the appropriate channels.

Until I have further news, cheers. I hope all Concordians have a good summer, and I look forward to working for you in the fall. Change and progress is coming soon, August 2009.

A Little Background History on your President...

Just in case some of you guys are unfamiliar with me, I wanted to list a few details about myself personally as well as my career in SGA. I was raised early in Oceana, WV, but my family moved to Pineville at an early age. I graduated from Wyoming East High School, and at Concord, I am majoring in English Literature and History with an Emphasis in Philosophy with a minor in Pre-Law with the hopes of going to law school. From my first day at Concord, I immediately loved the atmosphere of the campus but I instantly spotted things that were wrong. I loved the laid back atmosphere of the campus, and I respect how challenging Concord's academic programs are. Those programs have turned me not only into a better scholar but also into a better person. With that being said, it is not hard to recognize that the dorms are falling apart. The heating is archaic, and cooling is nonexistent. The hours to the cafeteria are not flexible with student schedules, and the food tastes like cardboard. The library closes at 10 PM, a time that many students (myself included usually, as I am a procrasinator) when students most need to use it. The rules in the disciplinary halls even felt a little like boot camp when I first arrived. With that being said, I decided to join the SGA in the fall of 2007 as a representative to the Honors Program under President Cook's administration.

As a representative, I oftentimes voted but it took me a while to speak my opinion. Early on, I was always a shy and withdrawn kind of guy, and this has always been a serious personality defect. Despite that, I did have a voice, and I casted several votes. By the time the spring rolled around, I became more involved. Curtis Kearns, the Vice-President, appointed me to the SGA Affairs committee, and I helped Josh Lawson work through bylaw reform. During that time, I ran several heated meetings that quite frankly scared me in how frank and outgoing they were, but I learned and it made me a better leader. During the course of the year, I always admired Attorney General Gillespie's work as she was the objective voice of the law in the dramatic SGA, so I ran for her job. After a rather lengthy election process with Chris Matheny, Rob Elsaid, and Zach Cox, I, a relatively new insider, was elected to the Attorney General.

I knew little then about what I was getting myself into. The Attorney General is a very difficult job. That person must be a balance between the always conflicting forces of Housing and students when he/she prosecutes cases through the student disciplinary process. It also fell on me to investigate and then attempt to impeach then President Prince for ethical issues relating to appointment processes. This was in my first semester in the job. As people conflicted and as political factions grew, I did my very best to stay objective as the AG. The AG is a job dedicated to internal workings within the SGA, and that impeachment did a lot of damage to the SGA's perception with students. Despite that, the Student Senate ordered it to happen, and I did my very best as the SGA's prosecutor. The Judicial Branch ultimately found President Prince not guilty as his ethical actions had nothing to do with the bylaws. When that sentence was struck, I realized that change needed to occur, and in the spring semester, I took on 3 different committee chairs. SGA Affairs again, SGA Ethics, and SGA Judicial Reform. Through the hard work of those committees, we built a way for a more effective, a more transparent, and a more ethical SGA. I realized that many problems exist with the SGA that I could not fix as Attorney General, so I then decided to run for President, and I am thankful that the students gave me a chance to do good for them.

As a leader, I realize that my record has several weaknesses. The SGA has always been more than about the SGA, and my record has mainly dealt with internal issues in the government. As your President, I realize through that experience that it is hard for the SGA to solve any external issues without first solving its inner problems. At the same time, I want to work to solve all kinds of problems that students are complaining to me about, whether it concerns the library, parking, food, dorms, etc. To do this, I plan on making a unified team. My government, unlike others, will work together, despite disagreement, to fix and mend the reputation of those in the past. We will not betray you by going on a trip to DC, for example (which I did not do when I was elected to the AG a year ago). Instead, my team is coming back a week early in order to start preparing for the fall. We are firing up our war room early in order to get stuff done. We will stand united. As a team, this will make us even more effective and credible when we go to bat with the administration.

Furthermore, a restoration of integrity will also be beneficial to getting things done. People like Dr. Aloia need to know that the leaders of the student body have credibility and credence when he negotiates with them. We have had leaders like that in the past, but their good will has oftentimes been compromised by those who have cared about the country club mentality. As your President, I will not let that attitude take hold. As a credible institution, we will have a greater voice when we negotiate over these issues. A broken and laughingstock government cannot accomplish anything.

The last issue I want to address about external issues is compromise. Students are suffering. As the SGA tries to get improvements made on campus with a long wait, they still need services. This is why I made the difficult decision for the students to help the administration to fund the library for an additional 2 hours a day this fall, which is my first accomplishment in office. I do not intend on this being a long term fix, but I needed to help those students who need that service in the short term. If that plan is approved, I will seek to find alternative ways to fund these projects beyond the compromise plan with Dr. Aloia, but this has to do for now. If we look to compromise at least in the short term, we can get notable improvements for the campus, show the administration that these improvements are noteworthy and valid, and then persuade the administration to adopt that improvement permanently. Considering that the college's budget is tight with the recession, it will take these kinds of policies in order to get long lasting change with some improvements, despite how unfortunate it might be to have to resort to such a method to help every student. As a force, the Student Government can bring change to this campus in this way. We will also do our best to insure that all of the technology in the dormitories is up to date, and we will NOT compromise on this agenda. Early on, I will make sure that this college is using all of its bandwith, which it is clearly not doing. Marshall Campbell, Rick Dillon, and I are also trying to negotiate with dining in order to get longer hours for the cafeteria. More to follow on that one.

I thus hope to make the SGA a legitimate force on campus for the future as well as bring many improvements to students at Concord University with my leadership team. As a person who has been an advocate for internal issues, I hope to steer the ship in the right direction while at the same time making sure that it reaches its destination (making student life better). This is a daunting task, but it is possible, and it must be done.

My First Post

Hello all,

Just in case you do not know me, my name is Jeff Yeager, and I will be the President of the Concord University Student Government Association in the fall. If I would have thought that I would be saying those words a year ago, I would have thought that I was a bit crazy considering that I was aware of the stress of the job after watching President Cook's administration as a Senator, but here I am. Over the course of the past year, the Student Government Association has suffered several setbacks, and this is not entirely the past administration's fault. The previous administration (under which I served as Attorney General) was merely the victim of a faulty ideology that has plagued SGA over the past several years--that is, the infamous "Country Club". Instead of being an organization dedicated to helping the students, the Student Government has been mainly led by people focused on helping themselves or focused on helping a small group of people. Students have recognized this, and the fact that I, a person who has primarily been an advocate for progress over the past few years, was elected proves this point entirely. Change is coming.

I wanted to use my first post to tell how excited I am about the leadership team that has been elected by the students that are assembled as well as those whom I appointed to various posts in my first day in office. Vice President Akeya Carter Bozman has always been a solid advocate for the students. As a Senator and as the representative to the Board of Governors, she has always looked to what is best for students. Her passion and zeal will undoubtedly lead to great things as the Vice President as she plans Homecoming, Spring Fling, as well as making sure that all of our committees run effectively.

I am also excited about working with Business Manager Belcher. Although we oftentimes disagreed last year in the Senate over various issues, including when he got appointed to Vice President without the Senate's consent, I have developed a great deal of respect for Matt. He and I both agree that the rather hefty officer pay needs to be cut, and we have already polled all of the officers about cuts, and they are all fine with it. Considering that we may have made a few errors in evaluating those cuts, we will look at them again before the fall starts. I also plan on working with him closely to insure that the Budgetary Process this year runs a little bit more smoothly in the hope of not having a 8 to 9 hour long meeting.

Attorney General Lewis will undoubtedly give good insight in his role as AG. I believe that Bill realizes that the AG is a very powerful position in that it does more than prosecute cases. I know that Bill will do much more for reform than most in that role before him. I hope that he will help to revaluate Judicial Reform as well as further ethical reform. I'm also looking forward to seeing how he will bring his own unique fire and zeal to that role, especially considering one of the most boring guys on campus (points finger) held that job last year.

Board of Governors Representative Kearns will also do a great job as the Board rep. He and I have also not always agreed politically, but that has never stopped us from working together as a team. We will both work hard to insure that your tuition is not raised so highly this year, and we will make Dr. Aloia and the administration crunch numbers and we will make sure that this university is accountable for every dollar. As a team, we will both be a force to be reckoned with, pardon the cliche.

Secretary Lopez will also undoubtedly do well in his role. Based on what I have seen from him so far, he is very serious about his position, and I am sure that the Senate will tell a big difference in the efficiency of that job this year compared to last. He will also be a solid voice to the Executive. Gavin Ward has a solid knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure based on his time in SGA as well as his taking the course from Dr. Brichford. He will undoubtedly be an asset to me in helping to keep the Senate running efficiently. No one can say enough about Ombudsman Keys, who has done a magnificent job over the past few years. I look forward to working with her again.

With this team, the Yeager Administration WILL bring change to this campus for the greater good. We are a diverse group of people who have not always been on the same page, but I can promise you, we are all on that level now. With strong leadership, we hope to make the SGA a credible institution again by restoring its integrity to both the students and the administration so that we will be a completely legitimate voice on this campus. As your President, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, and most importantly--a leader for the rest of the government to follow. As I lead this diverse team of smart, capable students who all are capable of great things together as a unified whole for the betterment of this campus, great things will come. To do this, I will always need your patience but at the same time this administration always needs constructive criticism as well in order to know what it is doing is right.