On Thursday, January 19th Student Union President Greg Petsche delivered the Inaugural Address in front of student leaders, members of faculty, staff, administration and University Heights Mayor Infeld.

Below is President Petsche’s full address which focused on what the Student Union has been doing thus far and the vision for Student Union’s future initiatives.

 

 

Student Union Inaugural Address: Greg Petsche (2012)

 

Thank you all for being a part of this significant occasion. In this moment we are reflecting on the past while celebrating the future. This past year has laid an important foundation for the continual growth and strengthening of the Student Union. We have taken steps that will enable us to be more efficient internally, that revamped our communications to better reach out to the student body, that delved deeper into the areas of programming, that allowed us to operate as one Student Union entity, that built good relations with our neighbors in the greater community.

 

While we have had many successes this past year, I would be remiss to say “Mission Accomplished”. Instead it is my privilege to lay out the vision for Student Union in 2012.

 

Student Union can be misunderstood or underestimated at times, but to me it has always been crystal clear. The John Carroll University Student Union has the ability to create change and promote progress on campus and in our community. We are the voice of the student body. We have the attention of faculty, staff and administration because of the trust that students give us. So long as we never lose focus on why we’re here, we may continue to be able to act for students. For this reason, my administration will place a bigger emphasis on student outreach. Every student should feel comfortable to reach out to their Student Union. We will initiate physical suggestion boxes in key locations as well as a digital suggestion box on our website. We understand that our regularly scheduled Student Union Senate Meetings are formal and, as such, can be intimidating for student involvement in such meetings. To make up for this we will begin a series of “town hall forums” where the discussion will be dedicated to student questions, concerns and ideas. Another imperative will be straining to hear the voices of students that may be silent. It will be the mission of our Vice President for Communications, Lizzie Trathen, to continually seek out and welcome those silent voices so that we may truly act on behalf of all students. Part of reaching out to students is also going to involve updating students on what we have done and are doing with the information they have given us. Thus, Lizzie will be charged with helping each division of Student Union communicate their successes and efforts to the Student Body in more creative and engaging ways. We will establish two way communications with students during this administration. No student should be able to say that they don’t know what their Student Union is doing and no student should be able to say that they feel uncomfortable talking with their elected representatives.

 

Another major initiative for my administration will be focused on promoting diversity and inclusion on our campus. After speaking with many students, faculty, staff, and administration it is clear that while we are not the worst when it comes to acts of intolerance, we are a long ways from perfection. As the representatives of the student body, it is our duty to ensure the representation and well-being of every student. As students in the Jesuit education tradition, it is our mission to be men and women for and with others. We must ensure that John Carroll University is a place where diversity is celebrated, not hidden. We must ensure that our University is a place everyone feels welcome to be who they are. It’s going to take some big steps to get there. I have to thank our new Vice President for Programming, Taylor Horen, as she has helped secure the funding for a Diversity and Inclusion Week to take place later this semester. We will be relying on and working closely with the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion. They have been an invaluable resource in this effort so far and I look forward to our continued cooperation. President Rochford, Senator Zubal and I have been meeting with concerned students as a result of the previous forum on campus diversity and inclusion. From these meetings, we have created a list of action items that, once implemented, will go a long way to make John Carroll University a more welcoming and inclusive environment. We will work with the Office of Residence Life to focus on how to best involve Resident Assistants, as well as looking into revamping living communities. We will work with the academic deans and pertinent faculty to find ways to better incorporate diversity discussions in the curriculum, specifically looking at the Core Diversity requirement and First Year Seminar classes. Finally, we will do our best to involve all students in these discussions as well as work through the appropriate administrative channels to get these goals accomplished. Promoting a more diverse and inclusive campus community will be a major initiative in my vision for the Student Union in 2012 and beyond.

 

Having attended the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference this past year, I came back with a lot of ideas, but also a newfound inspiration. It was a chance for me to better understand the Jesuit mission and how it relates to student leadership. I have been inspired to better utilize Student Union as a vehicle for initiating social justice. To accomplish this, I will work with the other 27 Jesuit Universities in the United States to create a National Jesuit Student Governments Alliance. The goal of this newly formed group will be to have all 28 Jesuit Universities in the United States work together on global and national initiatives that relate to students and the Jesuit mission as well as to have an established network where we can all learn and share with each other.

 

Community Relations will also be a priority for this administration. We have some newly sworn-in city councilmen in University Heights and it will be our honor to get to know them and establish positive-working relationships with them. We are blessed to have Mayor Infeld in University Heights as she is an open, honest, dedicated and fair-minded elected representative. I look forwards to enhancing our relationship with our elected counterparts in city government. We must also look to our other neighbor, the City of Shaker Heights, and continue to build relationships there as well. In coordination with Dora Pruce, JCU’s Director of Government Relations, we will build bridges of communication with the Cities of University Heights and Shaker Heights. We will also work with Dora on increasing the involvement and outcomes by organizing an event in mid-March where students will travel to Columbus and meet with our elected officials in order to help secure funding for our higher education. To better these relationships we must first focus on how students are being portrayed in our greater community. When city council or neighbors hear of a few students making mistakes off campus, that behavior becomes the characteristics they hold for all John Carroll students. We need to make sure that the community understands that those acts are outliers of what is the norm of a student being educated in the Jesuit tradition. To accomplish this, I will work with our Community Affairs and Service Senate Committee as well as with Lizzie, Dora, and Tonya Strong Charles to develop news releases based on the different accomplishments and service projects achieved by students. We will also organize many more community service projects in University Heights and Shaker Heights in coordination with the Center for Service and Social Action as well as Dora Pruce. All of these actions will involve extensive participation from the student body. It is our hope that we can make a difference for our peers and our community while also promoting civic engagement on campus. A major promotion of civic engagement will come in the coming promotion of the 2012 presidential election. I hope that no matter who students are supporting that they will educate themselves on the candidates and issues, register to vote and fulfill their responsibility to be active citizens in our democracy. I look forward to the vast improvements we will make in this area.

 

Finally, we as a Student Union must continue to work with the faculty, staff and administration. We have built amazing working relationships with most departments and divisions here at JCU and it is up to us to work through these relationships to achieve positive change for students and FSAs alike. We are lucky to have a University that is willing to bring students to the table and actually listen to what we have to say. As President, I will sit on various University committees and sub-committees, and so will many of those on my board. We have been given seats at important tables. It is our responsibility to respectfully use these committee appointments to faithfully represent student concerns and ideas. We have worked hard to wield the tools and resources we currently have. Now is not a time to slow down, we must keep progressing.

 

As I look out in the audience, I see the many different people that will be integral in helping us achieve our goals. Our vision is clear and our mission well defined. It’s now time to act. Thank you all for being here tonight. Now, let’s celebrate the bright future that lies ahead.

 

—- Greg Petsche
President, Student Union