After winning an uncontested election last year Student Body President Gianni Quattrocchi and Vice President Akshitha Ag will be focusing on increasing student engagement, hosting programming during Sexual Assault Awareness Week among other objectives for the Fall 2022 semester.
ENGAGEMENT
TSG plans to host more in-person events and engage students through social media.
“Hopefully as we move towards more in-person events, I think that will be a really great way to kind of buildup on these collaborations,” said Zoe Karukas, the Chief of Staff for Temple United.
Only 183 students voted in last year’s election, which Quattrocchi owes to a lack of executive campaigns, a trend seen in the three most recent Temple Student Government presidential elections.
However, to combat the lack of participation, Quattrocchi and Ag will promote, advertise and market the upcoming executive team election to increase voter turnout. They also plan on having contested elections by promoting the election on social media.
“The biggest reason that people haven’t voted in not just this past election but, also in Brad Smutek’s election and Quinn Litsinger’s election is because they were the only people running and there’s no point in voting if there’s only one candidate,” Quattrocchi said.
GOVERNANCE
TSG also lacked participation in their legislative body considering only four resolutions were passed during the 2021-22 academic year.
They created a Legislative Advisory Committee in place of Parliament for the 2022-23 academic year. This committee will research if a legislative body is possible for the 2023-24 academic year.
Following the dissolution of parliament last spring, former TSG president Bradley Smutek and his executive team drafted a provisional constitution for the 2022-23 academic year, which includes changes to the election committee and making their Allocations Committee a separate department.
The allocations committee, which is the committee that approves or denies organizations’ requests for funds, was previously under the student body president’s oversight. In the provisional constitution the allocations committee is now an independent branch within TSG.
TSG plans to write a more permanent constitution and give it to the executive team for the 2023-24 academic year.
ADVOCACY
TSG will be hosting a Sexual Assault Awareness Week during October and will be partnering with the Wellness Resource Center.
It is also Quattrocchi’s goal to renew the “It’s On Us” initiative at Temple University, which advocates for sexual assault prevention programs across college campuses.
“A few years ago, it lapsed, in terms of, there are a few requirements that need to be met,” Quattrocchi said. “It is my goal by the time I leave office we will have renewed our pledge for It’s On Us.”
Quattrocchi would like to see TSG become more interconnected within student life and among organizations, to assist with student engagement.
“That starts with increased communication between students and TSG, increased engagement between TSG and university administration and offices so we can communicate that back to the students and ensuring that students know of all the opportunities and venues to participate,” Quattrocchi said.
TSG has also been collaborating with Temple Athletics to promote the upcoming schedules for teams throughout the athletic department and to increase student interest in sporting events. They hope to bring student engagement back to a pre-pandemic level.
“We want to be a much more integrated part of the student experience that we have ever been,” Quattrocchi said.
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