The first business day of the Stephen Swinson administration, according to the new president, was hectic as the Student Government Association attempted to move on with regular business after the resignation of former SGA President Grant Cochran.
Swinson, formerly the SGA executive vice president, was sworn in as SGA president at 7:33 p.m. Friday, immediately after Cochran’s resignation. Cochran resigned Friday amid allegations of irregularities in the selection process for First Year Council, a subject Swinson said he couldn’t comment on.
“Currently, it’s under investigation by the University, so it’s not an SGA investigation,” he said. “The [SGA] Attorney General found some irregularities, reported it to the University, and at that point it’s out of our hands.”
Swinson said his main goal right now, in the midst of lingering questions about Cochran’s resignation, is to start over with a clean slate — a process that can start, he said, by bringing in new perspectives to SGA.
“The number one goal right now is to make sure that the student body has confidence in their student government representatives,” he said. “One way we can do that is by bringing more people from different corners of campus, and have a little more diversity. That’s something I seek.”
That diversity could come with appointments to a new president’s advisory board composed of five to seven students, Swinson said. To find those students, Swinson said he plans on asking students whom they look to for leadership and asking administrators which students can provide insight on certain topics, like tornado relief.
‘Tornado recovery…I don’t feel like SGA has done enough so far,” Swinson said. “We’re going to up that effort, and so maybe one of my advisors would have a lot of insight as to how we can help that effort.”
Swinson also said that improving communication with the legislative branch of SGA is a priority.
“I think there’s always an opportunity for communication to get better no matter what,” Speaker of the Senate Ryan Flamerich said. “Going forward, we’re going to announce some changes in terms of how the two branches communicate with each other.”
Swinson said his relationship with Flamerich has been productive so far.
“I’ve had talks with Speaker Flamerich and they’ve been positive talks,” he said. “I’ve had talks with senators, and they’ve all been positive talks. The way I look at it…this is a clean slate. We’re focused on moving forward.”
Ultimately, Swinson said his experience in the SGA would help him lead the administration through the current challenges.
“This is my fourth year in SGA,” he said. “I have a lot of experience. I know what works, I know what doesn’t…if there are skeptics out there, I’m confident we can prove them wrong.”
Swinson ran unopposed last year for the position of executive vice president, but stressed that he was elected by the whole student body to serve the whole student body.
“When I ran I was prepared to serve under either [Coresa Nancy Hogan] or under Grant [Cochran]. I ran for Executive VP, and I was excited about the opportunity to work with Grant,” he said.
“Let me show you that I’m going to make a real effort and make a real change here. You’re going to see through the next couple weeks, the next couple months, that this is a sincere SGA that is out to really improve relations among different groups on campus. All I ask is that you give me time,” he said.
Swinson said he would introduce a full plan for his administration on Thursday night during the State of the University address.
