Student body president Jazzy Duarte and vice president Hannah Rose Wanless plan to tackle consolidation, environmental sustainability, student participation and voter turnout during their tenure. Courtesy of Jazzy Duarte
By Carrie Pinkard
The new school year means new classes, new textbooks and a new Student Government term.
The 48th term brings in senior Jazzy Duarte as president and junior Hannah Rose Wanless as vice president.
Duarte is an environmental science and policy major from Orlando. She said she started working with Student Government in the summer of 2016 because she “loved the idea of working as students for students.”
Wanless is a history major who joined SG as a freshman. She said she wants to make sure all student voices feel heard and represented on campus.
The pair discussed their plans for the year and agreed that the major issues they want to tackle are consolidation, environmental sustainability, student participation and voter turnout.
Consolidation
Consolidation has been looming over the university for over a year. There are still many questions about how the process will work and how it will affect students.
Duarte said as SG president, she wants to be sure USF St. Petersburg student voices are being heard.
“I think the most concerning thing about this situation is that there isn’t much information given to the students,” Duarte said. “A lot of the details have not been advertised, so we’re not able to properly plan on what next steps to take for our campus.
“It’s also going to be hard to ensure that our campus voice and concerns are heard, so we don’t get lost in this process.”
Wanless agreed.
“Figuring out what it means to be a consolidated university, and making sure USFSP’s students voices are heard and needs are still met during this process is a big priority for President Duarte and myself,” she said.
Sustainability
When Duarte ran for president, sustainability was one of the pillars of her campaign.
She is part of the Clean Energy and Resource Conservation Commission, which conducted research on greenhouse gas emissions and recycling on campus. She said the recycling rate at USF St Petersburg was “very low.”
“I hope to work with other environmental organizations to promote sustainability and make it accessible to all,” Duarte said.
Student Participation
One of Wanless’ goals is to get more students participating in events.
“I would love to be able to increase student attendance and participation in events across the board,” she said. “Student Government and the other student organizations on campus are here to serve the student body, so figuring out the best events, and ways to reach them is a goal that I have.”
Duarte wants to encourage students to explore jobs within SG. She said it’s one of the best ways to get involved on campus, and there are a variety of opportunities.
“With the Executive branch, we have deputy opportunities where you can shadow a Director in the branch and see what the position is made to be,” Duarte said.
“If someone was interested in the Legislative branch, they could campaign to be a senator and be a part of committees to make decisions for the campus. Same with our Judicial Branch, students can get involved as a judicial aid and be a part of our court,” she added.
Duarte and Wanless said they also want to start town halls and constituent hours to answer questions about how SG works.
Voter Turnout
Wanless and Duarte both want to address the low voter turnout in SG elections.
They plan to hold informational sessions that will teach students how and why they should vote.
“One of the things President Duarte and I planned on doing during our campaign is hosting ‘Know Your Rights’ sessions, that explain your rights as a student on campus,” Wanless said. “These sessions will go over how each branch works and how they represent the students, and why each person’s vote is important.”
“I hope to work closely with our Office of Civic Engagement and other affiliated organizations on campus to increase voter turnout on campus and in the community,” said Duarte said.
Both Duarte and Wanless said they’re always open to hearing concerns from students.
Duarte said students can contact her by email, come in to the student government office, or simply approach her on campus.
“I want to put emphasis on the fact that my job is to serve the students. I want to hear from you,” she said.
