Changing the image students have of the Undergraduate Student Government is one of the goals of Eddie Pauline, president of USG.
“Students weren’t happy with USG. Students didn’t know what it was,” said Pauline, a senior in political science and geology. “They thought it was a secret society of people who wanted to be politicians someday.”
From the beginning of autumn quarter, every USG member of has been working hard and drilling out different initiatives and projects for the school year.
The Underrepresented Constituency Committee has had a lot of progress, Pauline said.
The UCC represents 16 minority classes with their own representative, said Patty Cunningham, a senior in sociology and women’s studies and the committee’s leader.
Another project USG has put at the top of its list is the Greek Initiative, said Melissa Koch, USG vice president, who is in charge of the Greek Committee. USG wants to establish an endowment scholarship for students who want to become greek but cannot afford it.
“At the moment, sororities and fraternities aren’t that diverse,” Koch said. “We want to change that. We want people from different backgrounds to become greek.”
Student eligible for the scholarship would have a GPA of at least a 2.5, preferably a 3.0. Applicants need leadership skills, an interest in community service and diversity as well as proof they are in need of financial help.
Koch is exploring options to raise money for the fund, including asking Ohio State alumni and chapter alumni for donations. No decision, however, has been made on how to raise the money.
Pauline said USG is trying to focus more on off-campus areas with the University Plan.
“The University Plan will coincide with the Academic Plan and the Diversity Plan,” he said. “It’ll address every issue out there, such as Campus Partners, the Gateway Project, crime and safety.
“One of the issues is students don’t really know anything about Campus Partners. It’s a mysterious organization,” Pauline said. “The University Plan will come up with a strategy about how to educate students on Campus Partners.”
One idea is creating a block-watch person to inform residents on a certain street about upcoming events, he said. In return, the student will receive discounted rent.
The new policy plan will encourage students to get involved in the entertainment around campus and Columbus.
“We can change things. We can actually make an impact,” Pauline said. “We’re actually a crucial part of the administration, and more students understood that we are at the same level as faculty, staff members and (other) administration on some of these committees that the university runs on. They’ve finally realized how important it is to express their concerns to us.”
