SGC-UP president talks about responsibilities, goals

By: David Barrios / Senior Staff Writer
Inside a small area on the second floor of the Graham Center is the Student Government Council office, heavy with traffic as interns, senators and members of the executive branch of the organization discuss plans to bring musician John Legend to perform and lecture at the U.S. Century Bank Arena, all while making plans for lunch at Einstein Brothers.

In a room at the end of the office sits Arthur J. Meyer, president of SGC at University Park, with a Barack Obama poster on his door and a Blackberry phone at hand while taking a multi-vitamin to keep him alert and on task.

Representing a student body of over 38,000 is a time consuming task, explains Meyer, a native of Long Island, New York.

Serving as student government vice president from 2007-2008 and president of the body from 2008-2009, Meyer has become an important force throughout the University.

“Well, I’ve also got several other responsibilities outside of the University. I’m the Chair of the Florida Students Association and the only student member on the State University Systems Board of Governors. And I also work at the Brooks Brothers store,” he said.

Meyer’s main job at the University is to represent the student body to the administration while holding a seat on the Board of Trustees – entitled to him since he sits on the BOG.

Meyer deals with University administration constantly.

“The way we try to work with the administration is so that, if we’re expected to give something to them, they’ll at least concede something for the student body,” he said. “When the athletic fee was increased again this year, there was somewhat of an uproar but there was a trade off for this: Student organizations’ small venues in the stadium are open for free.”

The Student Government Association, which is composed by both SGC-UP and SGC at Biscayne Bay Campus and Pines Center, had a $9.5 million budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, as determined by Student Affairs according to enrollment in the University.

The distribution of these funds is determined by the SGA Senate.

“It’s time consuming but I’ve got two tools that really make it all possible: my Blackberry and Microsoft Outlook,” Meyer said. “It helps me on every aspect of my time management skills. [But] it gets annoying getting an e-mail near midnight; it’s just not for everyone.”

As president of SGC-UP, Meyer is head of the executive branch, which also consists of the vice president, comptroller, chief of staff and a presidential cabinet.

“Overall, I would say that our government is set up much like the U.S. government: with an executive branch, a legislative branch and a judicial branch, though there’s only one house: the senate,” said Paige LaPointe, SGC-UP vice president.

Meyer, according to the SGA constitution, is entitled veto power over the legislative branch although the senate is able to veto the president’s veto with a 2/3 majority.

Meyer admits travelling a lot and “delegating many of my tasks to Paige.”

“In the past, my job would have me working closely with A.J. and helping him run things,” LaPointe said. “But he’s travelling often, so I hold down the fort and keep things running smoothly from small tasks to attending meetings.”

Elected in April 2008, Meyer’s campaign ran on several major platforms, including the expansion of the PantherTram system into a point-to-point system to alleviate traffic; the development of PantherTV, a television station for the campus; and the implementation of a comprehensive Environmental Action Plan.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is my letter to Marty Margulies, the creator of Marty’s Cube. I wanted to secure that we keep Marty’s Cube at this University, a university without many traditions at all, and so I sent a letter through President Maidique,” Meyer said. “Mr. Margulies just responded to us and told us that it was ours.”

It has been noted among several members of the Senate, however, that there is still much work left to be done during this semester. In a Jan. 2 Senate meeting, Senate Speaker Jean Roseme said, “we only have three months left. We have many of the goals we set out to achieve this year that haven’t been completed. We still need to work hard to try and push to complete what we set out to do.”

Meyer acknowledges that there is still a lot to discuss and get done. He is proud of what he has accomplished and said he will work hard to complete the goals he set during his campaign.

“I’m very open to the idea of running again for the presidency, but it all depends if I’m able to graduate at the end of the year or not. That’s something left to see,” Meyer said.