D’Mia Lamar, a senior political science and philosophy double-major from Roy and the current Vice President of Finance for the SUUSA Senate, recently won the unopposed Presidential position of the 2018-19 SUUSA Senate.
While last semester’s funding budget, which Lamar oversees, regularly approved club and individual funding requests from SUUSA and ended the semester with 49 percent of the budget left, the rest of the budget was spent in the first month and a half back to school.
Since then, the finance committee of the Senate has worked to decide on a new process for funding requests, and whether or not to pull additional funds to fulfill more requests.
Lamar said this is a major reason she wanted to stay in the Senate as a major player next year.
“One year is really not a lot of time to get big projects done, as big projects often take a lot of time,” Lamar said. “We cannot afford to lose the (progress) that has been made thus far … it will be one of my top priorities to see that we continue to make progress with these projects and begin to work on any new projects students feel passionate about.”
In addition, Lamar hopes to continue working on several other major projects the Senate has begun but will be unable to finish by the time the new Senate takes over, namely the tobacco-free campus initiative and the midterm grade policy change.
Lamar said she believes her experience in the current Senate and her personable nature make her well suited to the job.
“Being a current member of the SUUSA Executive Council has given me the ability to see what struggles students face as well as the ability to see struggles SUUSA faces,” Lamar said. “Both abilities are necessary to being president, and I’ve been able to gain those abilities through my current position in SUUSA.”
However, it’s difficult to decide if a person will be right for a job with no competition, and Lamar ran unopposed in this election.
“Running unopposed has brought mixed feelings to me,” Lamar said. “I am happy that I don’t have to campaign against anyone in particular. However, it is quite concerning that there are not more students interested in being a part of their government as SUUSA makes important decisions that affect students.”
Lamar hopes she will be able to bring about new excitement and passion for student government with her position and says that if students are upset about the unopposed election, the only way to prevent it is to run in the elections. “Run for the student government position you feel most passionate about and ensure not only that candidates don’t run unopposed, but ensure that student concerns are heard and addressed by listening and acting,” Lamar said.
Lamar will serve for the 2018-19 school year and will be sworn in as Hayden Carroll’s replacement at the end of the year. Any concerns for SUUSA Senate should be sent using My SUU Voice on the student portal homepage.
Story By
Dewey Leavitt
life@suunews.com
