A familiar face will preside atop Temple Student Government this year.
Juan Galeano, a member of TSG since September 2004, was elected student body president after his slate, “Owl Potential,” won an unopposed election last spring.
Galeano, a senior political science major, will work alongside his “Owl Potential” partners, Vice President of Academic Affairs Eric Stephenson, a junior international business and finance major, and Vice President of Student Affairs Nadine Mompremier, a senior law and business major.
In six semesters, Galeano has moved from General Assembly representative to diversity affairs co-chair to vice-president of Student Affairs, a position he held as a junior last year.
“Student government offers a lot of opportunities to make your own vision become reality,” Galeano told The Temple News in April. “Slowly, I’ve become more and more committed to it.”
The word “committed” could be considered a little too modest, though.
Galeano was named Most Outstanding General Assembly member in 2005 and as vice-president of student affairs, he helped coordinate “1K Help For a Day” and “Temple B. Moore,” two large-scale community service events held in the fall 2006 and spring 2007 semesters, respectively. Both events attracted more than 1,000 student volunteers.
Stephenson and Mompremier also have TSG experience. Stephenson was the allocations chair last year, while Mompremier served as the alumni affair chair.
Together, the trio will help provide the voice for one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation. TSG holds 11 committees and its General Assembly encompasses representatives from various student organizations, colleges and campuses.
“Owl Potential” ran on a platform that focused on increasing participation, involvement and preparation among students.
Running unopposed, “Owl Potential” received 1,082 of the 1,252 votes in last spring’s election, a 62 percent drop from the total number of ballots cast in 2006. It marked the second consecutive year of decreased voter turnout at the TSG election polls.
Reversing the trend of apathy in students is one of the slate’s main concerns.
“We’re going to increase the awareness about local and global issues occurring in our society,” Galeano said. “There are so many interesting things that are going on and we have a lot of faculty that would gladly come after school hours and talk with students.
“A lot of people aren’t interested because they aren’t engaged, and we can create that engagement using different avenues,” he continued. “Increasing awareness and participation within and outside [of] our university is paramount.”
Tyson McCloud can be reached at tyson@temple.edu.
Be the first to comment