The Undergraduate Students Association Council swore in the 2010-2011 councilmembers early Wednesday morning, offering advice and reflecting on the past year.
“This year has been difficult, coming into council right when all of the budget cuts hit and things got really serious really fast,” said Academic Affairs Commissioner Layhannara Tep. “I appreciate that we were able to finish things efficiently, but when items needed to be discussed in full, we discussed it and got everyone’s perspective.”
Some members raised concerns and issues they encountered during their term, highlighting the obstacles for next year’s group.
“I came into council wanting to offer an outside perspective ““ that’s what I felt USAC needed the most,” said General Representative Addison Huddy.
General Representative Thach Nguyen had similar thoughts about the flaws in the behavior of this year’s council and the difficulties of avoiding partisanship.
“We’re all human, we make the mistake of letting our personal biases get in the way of how we vote and how we decide to discuss things, and that has been really disappointing to me,” Nguyen said. “I’ve lost faith in the process.”
Huddy mentioned the council will include people with different viewpoints and that members must be willing to cooperate with each other, alluding to the 6-4 Students First! to Bruins United split in next year’s council.
Overall, the theme of sincerely representing the student body resonated with many USAC members.
“When you vote on this table, you don’t vote for yourself, you don’t vote for your party, you don’t just vote for the students who elected you,” Nguyen said. “Remember that you’re representing all students.”
External Vice President Susan Li stressed the value of what officers do beyond weekly meetings.
“We can sit here and argue and bicker about this word and that resolution, but if at the end of the day you’re not doing anything when you step outside these doors, you are not an effective councilmember,” she said.