On Saturday, at 11:59 p.m., the 2014 DePauw Student Government elections officially ended. The following day Cody Watson and Courtney Cosby were announced Student Government President and Vice President respectively. The question now, is: What will Watson and Cosby do for DePauw during the 2014-2015 academic year?
Running on three main points, the duo of Watson and Cosby plan to 1) improve the communication and transparency between the administration, DePauw Student Government and the student body 2) increase the number of events between the various communities of DePauw and Greencastle in order to share experiences, exchange ideas and most of all, work together and 3) push the members of DePauw Student Government to actively hear the concerns and ideas of the student body and then produce legislation that will outline and produce the change we want to see.
In order to accomplish these three overarching goals, Watson and Cosby plan to create more student spaces on campus, to facilitate more events that engage the entire student body and to be an active resource where all students can approach with ideas, concerns and experiences.
Upon taking office, Watson and Cosby are already working on improving the communication between students and DePauw Student Government. The incoming president and vice president believe that DePauw Student Government is the way in which all input from students can be channeled to the faculty and staff, as well as the system in which messages from the faculty and staff can be shared with all students. Co-sponsoring and event advertising are also among the topics students are looking to improve through a better communication system between student organizations.
To foster a better system of communication, Watson and Cosby are working with the staff in the Office of Student Life to turn the space that was the old book store in the basement of the Union Building into a new student space. In this revamped space, student organizations will find a place in which they can have scheduled meetings, students will find a place in which they can study and DePauw Student Government will find a space in which they can enhance their communication. With these changes DePauw Student Government will be able to use it as a location in which campus resources can be better shared, ideas can spontaneously find life, and a place in which students can start to express themselves. Watson and Cosby also plan to spend ample time in the new space, in order to be as available as possible for the DePauw Student Body.
With only two and half weeks left, Watson and Cosby don't plan to waste a minute. Currently, they are working to finalize the plans for the revamp of the book store space, beginning to lie out the plan for next year and reaching out to numerous organizations in order to hear opinions from the students of DePauw University.
Therefore, if you see Watson and Cosby out and about over the next couple of weeks, don't hesitate to stop and give them your opinion as to how they can make the DePauw experience better for everyone.