The Paladin Editor-in-Chief Audrey Enghauser: What have you enjoyed most about being part of SGA so far?
Student Government Association President Yaseen Echekki ’24: I’ve really enjoyed the people that I work alongside. That’s my favorite thing about a lot of things that I do. I do it because I enjoy connecting with people and also learning the ins and outs of the way that Furman works. It gives a little bit of an insight into the way that things work at Furman — if you want to get something done, how to do it. Those are two things that I’ve enjoyed a lot, and then just connecting with different people around the Furman campus, and meeting people all the time, especially this past year, through club approvals. I’ve been learning about all the students’ passions, and what people are interested in and meeting new people along the way — it has been a super cool process this year.
AE: What made you want to run for president?
YE: Partly natural progression, but also working on how we operate as a student org. SGA is still relatively new in its structure — we just restructured right after COVID. My freshman year is the first year that we restructured, and so I wanted to run for president to work on how we could make this new structure work the best that it could. I see a big part of my role is trying to build a strong foundation for future years, thinking about how we can work as efficiently as we can to do the best that we can for the student body. A lot of things will be organizational — how can we do this meeting in a way where things run smoothly, or how can we make sure the reps have everything they need to carry out their projects.
AE: What were those changes that were made after COVID?
YE: Before COVID, we used to have a class president, a class vice president, a class secretary and a class finance officer, and those would be the four reps. Everyone would be running for that, and then we’d have the exec board overseeing that. The secretary would always send class emails, and one member would always manage the budget, but we just restructured to where everyone is just a student rep. We have four student reps, and then we have exec board. The original vision of it was that we were supposed to change to be more project-based so that each class — or each family unit of the classes, each of the four reps — could work together to carry out projects for the class to benefit each of the respective classes.
It’s different from how we used to do it, and there’s a lot of potential that we can take it in, lots of different directions that we can take it with people being unaffiliated, and there isn’t as much hierarchy. We’re all reps and we’re all a team here. There’s a lot of places that we can take it in the future.
AE: Are there any changes to the school that you’re trying to make next year?
YE: I met with (Vice President for Student Life) Connie Carson and (Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students) Jason Cassidy, and they gave me a little bit of a reality check. They’re like, ‘Listen, everything that you want to get done, you can’t expect it all to get done in a year, because a lot of projects take time and maybe years to accomplish.’ So I’m still figuring out exactly what that looks like. I had to make terms with the reality that everything that I may want to get done will probably not get done.
One thing that I feel like would be feasible in the next year is thinking about how we can drive our student government in the future to do efficiency things, like how can we structure things the best way, how can we organize our meetings the best way, give reps direction when they don’t have projects that they’re passionate about. So giving more defined roles, defining things a lot better, and communication with SGA and the student body that we’ve been experimenting with a little bit this year, but trying to solidify that going into next year, are two big goals.
Homecoming is changing up a little bit next year, and the way that SAC (Student Alumni Council) has decided that they’re taking a new direction that’s focused more on alumni during homecoming. Things like homecoming court and a lot of homecoming activities are still going to be within different student orgs, but SGA will be doing something along the lines of homecoming court (this) year. And then, generally within Council and within the student body, strengthening the Furman vibe. It’s already awesome, but the familial vibe, just making sure that we have a good familial environment.
AE: What is something that you hope your fellow leaders next year will gain from the experience being on SGA?
YE: I hope that our student government members next year are able to gain satisfaction from working on what they enjoy and are able to do that while also feeling supported, not lost. I hope that (this) year, we’re able to find direction and know what we’re supposed to be doing at all times, and this might sound kumbaya, to work together and be able to deal with things in the best way possible. Be intentional about what we do. Intention is a big thing that I want to see from different members of counsel and exec, and thinking about how we can be the most intentional and listening to each other is a big thing for sure.
AE: Is there anything else you’d like students to know?
YE: I’m excited about (this) year. I’m hoping that it’s going to be a good year. Never be afraid to reach out, email!
