Who are you and what are you doing with my Student Senate?

As President of the Student Senate, Miguel Rivera, a senior, is looking to change, not only the Senate, but also the university.  This is his second semester as president, but it is not his first year on Senate.

As a freshman, Miguel served as a senator, and in the spring of his sophomore year, he was the Coordinator of Finance. He took a crash course in budgeting once he was put in this position, managing $1.25 million dollars.

He was also The Extra Curricular Affairs Coordinator and continued as the Coordinator of Finance into his junior year. He liked to work with small groups and enjoyed the responsibility, making it a great year.

When he became president, he knew it was not going to be an easy task, but he was up for the challenge. "I wanted to put my own style into the position," he states about his feelings towards being president.

He is pushing for more communication at East Stroudsburg University. "Simple communication between students, faculty, and administration would fix a lot of problems here."

Miguel wants the clubs at the university to come together and collaborate to support one another. Beginning two years ago, the Presidents of Student Senate and Campus Activities Board, and the Editor and Chief of the Stroud Courier have been meeting to discuss important issues and how to keep the campus informed.

He says the school needs to keep its students up to date and aware of concerns. This responsibility now falls upon those in leadership positions. He touched on the Sanders scandal, wanting to move forward from this and in the future be better prepared. "Be proactive rather than reactive," he stated.

As many remember, as part of Student Suggestion Week, Student Affairs placed posters outside Center Court. Students could write comments or suggestions about different areas of campus that need improvement.

"It's about long term change, taking smaller steps than larger ones" he says, "Make people feel like they are doing something beneficial."

On that note, the Board of Student Government Presidents met recently to discuss helping Haiti after the devastating earthquake. While the kinks are still being worked out, Miguel says the state schools will be working with the Coordinator of United Way Pennsylvania Tony Ross to raise money.

A T-shirt design competition is in the works for state schools where 100% of the proceeds will go to help Haiti. Miguel asks anyone that has ideas for the competition to please contact the Student Senate. You can email them at studentsenate@po-box.esu.edu.

The Senate is also working on Community Kindness Week, April 18 through the 23. He says, "It's about giving back and having fun. More compassion and more understanding."  On Thursday of that week, the United Way will be on campus allowing student to work with them.

Community Kindness Week will run right into Community on the Quad, which Miguel is hoping will keep everyone involved and in the spirit of giving. "No matter where credit goes to, giving back is giving back."

As for the rest of the semester, President Rivera is staying low key working with Senate. He wants to focus on committees and new clubs. He wants more student involvement and to improve things academically and socially.

Miguel wants the students of ESU to know that even though it's typical to focus on the negative, there has been progress.