President Bloomberg looks to build a better relationship with student leaders – The Cauldron

President Laura Bloomberg believes that student leaders make a big impact on campus. That is why she wants to build a better relationship with the incoming Student Government Association (SGA) President-Elect Kayland Morris and Vice President-Elect Alysha Syed.

Bloomberg wishes she had a better relationship with the current SGA leadership and other student leaders.

“Going into my second year of the presidency, one of the things I would like to do is to do a better job of regularly meeting with student leaders,” Bloomberg said in an interview. “I can do a better job with that, and I always look forward to regular communication that’s not so much official. Let’s get together over lunch and just talk about what’s happening on campus.”

Cleveland State has student representatives on the Board of Trustees, and Faculty Senate allows students to speak at their senate meetings. Which Bloomberg thinks makes a great impact on bringing awareness to issues on campus.

“The student trustees are invited and welcome to make comments at every single {Board of Trustees} meeting. I believe the trustees take that very seriously,” Bloomberg said in the interview. “When student government speaks at the Faculty Senate, it gets people’s attention.”

Current Student Trustees’ representatives are Brittany Sommers and Jake Wrege. Sommers’ term expires on May 1, 2023, and Wrege’s expires on May 1, 2024.

Wrege reflects on the challenges of representing the diverse student body as a leader. He acknowledges the difficulties of understanding the realities and hardships faced by students that he may never personally experience.

“Throughout my leadership, I have been presented with realities and hardships faced by students that I myself may never endure or be able to directly relate to,” Wrege told The Cauldron. “However, I am faced with the challenge of figuring out how to represent the voice of those students regardless of the fact that their stories are not my own. I have to be a reliable and trustworthy narrator.”

Wrege expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve his fellow students.

“My experience as a student representative on the Board of Trustees has been humbling, to say the least,” Wrege said. “I am grateful every day for being given the opportunity to serve my fellow students to whom I owe so much.”

For SGA, President-Elect Morris looks forward to being able to talk in front of the Faculty Senate to raise awareness of student concerns.

“As president-elect of the Student Government Association, I am honored that I will get the chance to speak with the Faculty Senate, President Bloomberg, and Provost Sridhar,” Morris said in a statement to The Cauldron. “I am excited to better advocate for students in my new role, and I’m looking forward to a productive year in collaboration with the Cleveland State University administration.”

At the previous Senate Faculty meeting on March 1, current SGA President Nina Faisal brought attention to the slow computers in campus labs, library hours being extended, and concerns about the availability of counseling services.

“I feel like sometimes students think that we are not listening to their concerns. I do want to let them know that we are listening to their concerns,” Faisal said in an interview on Feb 22. “We are sharing things with our staff members and {administration} as well as the Faculty Senate to see how we can resolve issues.”

Cleveland State also has a Graduate Professional Student Association (GPSA) and a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to help raise awareness of issues their communities face.

Current GPSA President Cody Orahoske brought awareness to inflation driving away potential scholars and the rising health insurance that Grad Assistants (GA) have to pay. Orahoske asked for the health insurance to be waived for GA at the Senate Faculty meeting on March 1.

“To help create a transformational experience for our student-athletes by providing opportunities to develop leadership and voice, build community, and promote well-being and service,” reads SAAC’s Mission statement.

With all the ways students can get involved, Bloomberg believes that students have the resources to make an impact on campus. 

“There’s a lot of ways that student groups have an impact,” Bloomberg said.