My name is Dennis Kisyk, and I have been given the honor to serve the Quinnipiac University community as President of the Student Government Association. It is my responsibility to lead an organization of forty-one elected student leaders. Each of those forty-one members has been elected by their class to be agents of change on this campus. It will be my duty to harness their energy and enthusiasm to have a positive impact on the lives of Quinnipiac students.
The student voice at Quinnipiac is often underestimated. There are a great number of faculty, staff, and administrators who appreciate Quinnipiac students for the innovative and cognizant people that we are. All too often these forces are seen as opposing one another, when in fact, they can act as the great compliments. The Student Government must be at the forefront of building positive relationships throughout the university under the common goal of making Quinnipiac a better place to work, live, and learn.
Improving the quality of life for students at Quinnipiac has a significant impact that reaches far beyond the day-to-day activity in our residence halls. The happier students are, the better they will do academically. This will provide professors with higher caliber work and more involved class discussions. It will improve our university’s retention rate, decreasing lost revenue and improving the reputation of Quinnipiac as one of the premier universities in the Northeast. Everyone that is a part of the Quinnipiac community stands to gain from improving the quality of life for students here. I will make this the central mission of my term as SGA President.
Our Student Awareness Committee, under Vice President Mark Antonucci, will be working hard to collect those concerns and address them in a timely and efficient manner. This committee will be at the forefront of this effort to improve the quality of life for all of us. The committee works very closely with the various departments of our university to address student concerns that we collect directly from Quinnipiac students.
Our organization also has a responsibility to campus organizations. We have funded forty-one organizations on this campus, but we will not simply hand over a blank check. Becoming a Student Government chartered organization carries with it a wealth of resources. The Finance Committee, under Vice President Kristin Vidile, will act as a constant support structure to student organizations, providing the campus community with valuable services, events, and outlets for creativity and expression.
The Student Government Association has made a dedication to provide on-campus programming events every single weekend of the academic year. This initiative will be headed by Vice President Erin Rosa and the Student Programming Board. Concerts, comedians, educational lectures, weekly films, and all of our May Weekend events fall under the purview of SPB. The committee will provide fun and engaging programs throughout the year as well as programming resources to our chartered organizations with their outstanding general membership and knowledgeable SGA representatives.
Finally, we have an obligation to inform the student body of the work we are doing. We all have a right to know what is happening on our campus, the issues we are facing, the programs we are providing, and the changes we are making. The Public Relations Committee, headed by Vice President Ricky Baltimore, will be effectively informing students of the progress SGA is making and of all the ways in which we are representing students’ interests.
Aside from these functions, the members of the Student Government will be feeling the pulse of the campus and acting on the needs of their constituents. Doing the business of the students will be our focus, always and everywhere.
I look forward to working with the elected student leaders on Student Government as well as with the many professional members of the Quinnipiac community who will advocate for students’ needs. I plan to work with unbridled passion and enthusiasm to meet the needs of Quinnipiac University’s students, but I could not possibly do it alone. Any successes that we enjoy in this coming year will be completely because of the combined efforts of the members of Student Government. It is their intelligence, diligence, and care that will serve as the single greatest asset in the fight for students’ needs.
