Freshmen and Junior Class President Elections!!

Here are the candidates for Freshman and Junior Class President! Look out for their campaigns around campus this week. Voting begins on Friday, September 28 and ends on Monday, October 1 at 12 PM! Look for an email with a link to the ballot. Winners will be announced at that evening's General Assembly meeting at 6:30 PM in the 3rd floor lounge of Pless Hall.

*Please note that only current Steinhardt students of those classes are eligible to vote for these candidates!

FRESHMEN CLASS PRESIDENT

LAUREN BANKER 

I am in the Applied Psychology program. I was born and raised in Northern Virginia, a little outside of Washington D.C. I am running for Freshman class president, hoping to plan fun, interesting events if I am chosen. I am especially is interested in exposing NYU students to the many different entertainment and dining options New York City has to offer. My interests are engaging in epic pun battles, reading Harry Potter, and seeing musicals.


VICTORIA LI

 

Victoria Li is a freshman studying Media, Culture, and Communication, and she received her name because she was born across the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. However, she grew up in Edison, NJ. She loves online shopping, nail polish, and FOOD.


She is interested in planning fun and beneficial events for Steinhardt as a whole, such as a 16 handles event exclusively for Steinhardt students and a “speed-dating” event for underclassmen to meet upperclassmen and network. Be prepared for a lot of fun events filled with food (Molly's cupcakes anyone?) and a chance to meet different people from various majors!

 JUNIOR CLASS PRESIDENT

Aarushi is a Junior, studying Applied Psychology and American Sign Language. She's from New Jersey but her true home will always be the beautiful land of Bloomsburg, PA. She loves drinking coffee, photographing, and exploring. This is her first year on the USG E-Board and she's really excited to start planning events. She's on a mission to make getting involved the cool thing to do!

Blogging Fails+MCC+Deme Lovato=Vice President

Hey, I don't know how I got here from Shelly's other blog :/

 I’m Shelly Infantolino and I’m the Vice President of Steinhardt USG. I never really know what to do with blog posts, which is extremely evident in my failed attempt to have a tumblr. One of my friends looked at my tumblr once and made me aware that people really aren’t as interested in goats and Brooke Fraser as I am. Of course this was a blow to my ego and I haven’t looked at my tumblr since.

However, being a newly converted Media, Culture and Communications I feel like I should have some knowledge of the world of blogging. I’m great with the Twitter and the Facebook which inevitably comes up in every media class regardless the subject of discussion, but it wasn’t until this summer, in one of my summer courses, that I started to understand blogs.

The course was called “Culture Capital: Media and Arts in New York City” and we went all over the city to different media and art organizations such as Google, WNYC, The Apollo Theater, Blue Man Group, and my personal fave, the GMA free Demi Lovato concert in Central Park. Throughout the course of the class I had to blog about one sector of media or arts in New York City and I chose theater. Not only did I learn a ton in this class, I finally started to feel a little bit more comfortable blogging.

Now don’t expect me to be the next blog superstar or anything, but maybe I’ll have something interesting to say about how great Steinhardt is and how fabulous our undergraduate student government is. Until then I hope to see everyone at our general assembly meetings Monday at 6:30pm!

I mean, I'll never be as cool as this goat.

Reflections on Elections

It’s an interesting thing to hold student government elections at the same time as national primary campaigns are reaching the peak of their ugliness.  America is politically divided in a way that we’ve never seen before.  Cross-party relations don’t seem to be improving anytime soon.  While holding the office of Senior Class President may seem insignificant compared to the political showmanship (or lack thereof) taking place in Washington, it has taught me many things, but one in particular.  Being politically active is very important, especially when one belongs to a diverse community such as Steinhardt. 

Just as any candidate in a primary election needs to grasp, those that want to represent the student body must take into consideration their constituents.  Students within Steinhardt take on an enormous variety of roles—musicians, teachers, artists, media gurus and health professionals.  There must be people within our school that understand all of that and are willing to cater to that assortment of needs.  This is why we as a student government are so excited to recruit you as the future leaders of this school. Just as in local, state and federal governments, certain things would simply not happen otherwise.  The importance of taking initiative cannot be understated.  I am very pleased to take part in this process, and especially to pass on the torch to younger leaders within NYU.  Thank you to all that applied during this election period and to those who participate in our school and student government outside of elected positions.  Taking part in leading our school is only the beginning for you!

If you haven't yet applied and would still like to, check out the election application and information packet about available positions on the home page of our website!

The Grad School Woes and Solutions of a Steinhardt Senior

As I'm starting the final year of my undergraduate collegiate career I was expecting to feel some sort of super-hero-inducing adrenaline rush, pushing me to the end, leading me to victory. What I have found, however, is an intense regression, all the way back to high school.

The fall air brings more than hot soups and pumpkin spice lattes, it requires us to think of what is coming. Even when I was too young to be aware of it, every fall as school began I was just forced to think of what was coming, both in the academic year and in my life compared to the spring when I all I could think about was the end of the mess I was currently in. Now, at the brisk welcome of my senior year of college I can only think back to my senior year of high school and the pressure of "the next step."

I have decided to apply directly to graduate school after finishing my program here, and although I've told myself and many others that I'm applying it's finally starting to hit me as to what that actually means. Just because I will have my undergraduate degree doesn't mean I can just "go to grad school." I still have to write the essays, go for the interviews, take the tests, fill out the forms, and make every answer count, just like high school!

Luckily the advisors in Teaching and Learning are totally on top of it and are aware that many of my fellow T&L seniors are also reverting back to high school students and need to figure our stuff out! The new Assistant Director for Undergraduate Advising & Student Services in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Marni Passer, has put together a workshop for T&L seniors all about grad school, the whats-what and the how-tos.

 Email her (Marni.passer@nyu.edu) to reserve your spot for the workshop on Friday, October 5th, at 3:00pm in Silver 207 to learn more about our options for graduate school. Thanks Marni!

Good luck this fall, seniors and the rest'o'ya!

Ezra Plancon
President
Steinhardt USG

The Secretary Lets Us Know Why USG is AWESOME!

I’m Stephanie, this year’s USG Secretary. I don’t have a lot of things that I specifically want to share with the internet world right now, but I would love tot ell you how AWESOME Steinhardt/USG is going to be this year!

Steinhardt has been an extremely important component of my NYU career. I love the way it gives us the benefits of an intimate academic community while still being part of a huge global university. We all know who our advisors are and who to contact about our academic programs. We have a well-rounded student body with many differences, but we are all dedicated to influencing and improving the world around us in some way.

Undergraduate Student Government reflects the Steinhardt student body. We try to advocate for the needs and interests of the entire student body. We plan fun events like Yankees games (even though people like me root against them). We have service opportunities, and meetings where your voices can be heard. We meet with advisors from different departments, and once a semester we have the chance to talk to the Steinhardt deans and other administrators. We participate in NYU’s All-University games. Last year, we even won the best t-shirt!

So what can USG do for you? I hope that it will give you an opportunity to find your niche at NYU. I started coming to General Assembly meetings as a freshman because I thought student government was interesting, I liked being in the know about what’s happening on campus, and I wanted to meet people. Maybe it will do the same for you. Or maybe it will just feed you once a week, but that’s not bad either!

At the risk of being overly cheesy, I just want to say one more time that I absolutely love the Undergraduate Student Government and I hope you will, too. Come to a meeting on the 3rd floor of Pless Hall any Monday night at 6:30! We will find a place for you.

All the best,
Stephanie Plachy

PS. Make sure that when you do come to see us, you introduce yourselves! We’re looking forward to getting to know you.

USG - Treasurer

As the current Treasurer of Steinhardt Undergraduate Student Government, I am in charge of our budget and allotting money to all our clubs. I meet with our USG Advisor, Jenn Wells, every week and we go over the budget and make sure that our organization is financially sound. I love coming to our General Assembly meetings and hearing what all our amazing clubs are doing with the money we sponsor them with. Being Treasurer has also allowed me to know the ins-and-outs of the University and the Bursar department. Did you know that there is a Bank at NYU? It is in the very far corner next to the Financial Aid office.

It has been very rewarding being a part of Steinhardt Undergraduate Student Government and I would highly recommend running for Treasurer if you love Excel Spreadsheets, are good with numbers, and are organized.

If you have any questions about the Treasurer position, please feel free to email me at: alicia.kim@nyu.edu.

Best of luck if you are running for a position!

Alicia Kim

Treasurer, Steinhardt Undergraduate Student Government

USG Constitution Changes

Yellow text = original
Red text = changed

CONSTITUTION

Article III: Membership

Section 1: Governing Bodies

B. The Council of the USG shall consist of the Class President of each class (i.e. Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior), the Publicity Chairperson(s), the Programming Chairperson(s), Social Media Chairperson(s), and Community Service Chairperson(s) [Revised 9/29/09 unanimously]

B. The Council of USG shall consist of the Class President of each class (i.e. Fresman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior) and all appointed chair positions.

Section 5: Club Representatives

A. There shall be at least one club representative from each USG-sponsored club present at every meeting.

A. There shall be at least one club representative from each USG-sponsored club present at every General Assembly Meeting.

BYLAWS

Article I: The Executive Board and Council

Section 4: Duties and Responsibilities

I. The Publicity Chairperson(s) shall:

1. Be responsible for the publicity for each event and activity planned and sponsored by the USG.

2. Be responsible for the maintenance and updating of all bulletin boards and posting space of the USG.

3. Send communications via NYU’s “Email Direct” at the request and approval of the Executive Board and Council.

4. Carry out all other responsibilities as delegated by the President. [Revised 9/29/09 unanimously]

J. The Social Media Chair(s) shall:

1. Manage and maintain the official website, facebook, blog and twitter of the Undergraduate Student Government of The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

2. Offer new designs and features for the aesthetic and functional use of the website.

3. Carry out all other responsibilities as delegated by the President. [Revised 9/29/09 unanimously]

K. Community Service Chair Person(s) Shall:

1. Plan and execute community service events

2. Oversee a community service committee if desired

3. Carry out all other responsibilities as delegated by the President. [Revised 9/29/09 unanimously]

I. The Publicity Chairperson(s) shall:

1. Be responsible for the publicity for each event and activity planned and sponsored by the USG.

2. Be responsible for the maintenance, distribution, and updating of all bulletin boards and posting space of the USG.

3. Manage and maintain the official website, facebook, blog and twitter of the Undergraduate Student Government of The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

4. Carry out all other responsibilities as delegated by the President.

Article IV: Elections

Section 1: The Executive Board members shall be elected to their position by the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development student body. These elections shall be held by April, with the term of office to begin May 1. At that time, the previous officers shall relinquish their authority and serve in an ex-officio capacity as advisors to the new Executive Board members until May 1.

Section 1: The Executive Board members shall be elected to their position by the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development student body. These elections shall be held by April, with the term of office to begin May 1. At that time, the previous officers shall relinquish their authority and serve in an ex-officio capacity as advisors to the new Executive Board members until July 1.