Looking back over a year as the vice president of student affairs, Tyler Valeska said he is proud of what he has accomplished as an SGA vice president and has enjoyed serving the student body.
Valeska, a junior majoring in political science, said one of his biggest achievements this year was revising the student football ticket system in conjunction with ACTion Card Services.
“The department of student affairs oversaw a new penalty policy for unused tickets. The program was designed to minimize wasted tickets and maintain a positive, supportive game day atmosphere in the student section,” Valeska said. “Wasted tickets decreased by over 5,000 from the 2008 season, accounting for over 7 percent of student tickets used in 2009. The SGA, as part of the My Football Ticket team, was honored to receive the Sam S. May Commitment to Service Award from President Witt.”
Edward Pierce, a junior majoring in political science major, said he thought this system was an improvement from previous years when student tickets went unused.
“I think that the new ticket program implemented this past football season helped out tremendously, allowing more students to attend the games without wasting tickets,” Pierce said. “By filling the student section and not allowing tickets to go unused, the office of student affairs helped ensure a fair allocation of tickets to students in future seasons.”
The SGA Web site states that the vice president for student affairs is responsible for social policies, recreation, entertainment, athletic events, Homecoming, spirit events, student organizations, student services and any other issue regarding student needs. In addition to serving the student body, Valeska said that his position has allowed him to increase his political aptitude.
“Until my involvement in SGA, I didn’t fully understand what goes into political decision making,” Valeska said. “Student affairs is a unique position in that it encompasses such a wide variety of campus life. Getting to work with a diverse group of issues gave me a great perspective on how complex a university really is.”
Valeska also said he has been challenged during his term, especially when working with parking and transportation services.
“Working with parking is always a challenge because it’s an issue that people get fired up about but with little room for change. Ronnie Robertson and Chris Desposito of Parking and Transportation Services were great all year about working with us and explaining the reasons behind our current parking policies,” he said.
Andy Triplet, a freshman majoring in accounting, said this year’s parking reforms have made parking on campus more convenient.
“The University is making progress with parking,” Triplet said. “Before, it was ridiculous that a student couldn’t go to the Rec Center to exercise at their convenience, but now, due to student input and the hard work of the SGA, we are moving forward.”
Valeska said leaders must have good communication skills and be able to judge when to compromise.
He said he has been speaking with his successor, Stephen Swinson, and offering him advice about effective leadership.
“The advice I keep stressing is to surround himself with a dedicated cabinet. Without the work of my directors and assistants, student affairs would not have seen the accomplishments we did this year,” he said.
