Uniting Catholic U: New SGA Administration’s Plans For Year
Photo courtesy The Catholic University of America
By Patrick D. Lewis
In an election that only had one official platform on the ballot but was not without drama, undergraduate Catholic University students chose the 2024-2025 Student Government Association Executive Board. The officers are President Jeff Lance, Vice President Clare Tong, Secretary Arianna Salerno, and Treasurer Grace Marino. Over the summer, The Tower sat down with Lance and Salerno to learn more about them and their plans for the coming year.
In the wake of tensions on campus and across the globe, the Lance-Tong ticket chose “Unite CatholicU” as their campaign slogan.
“We felt the need of focusing on uniting our campus as a whole,” said Lance. “If we unify as a campus, we will do great things together.”
Salerno echoed that sentiment. “Going with ‘unite’ was a way for us to collectivize, just kind of to show the student body, ‘we’re here for you.’”
Lance, in his role as president, plans to work more closely with the legislative branch of SGA. When asked about his plans for his term, he replied, “Number one is pushing advocacy on to the administration based on resolutions passed by the Senate… my job is to advocate on behalf of the student body.”
Advocacy was a theme Lance returned to again and again. He pointed to work the previous administration has done in this sector. He plans to continue to work to get things like the Metro UPass nailed down.
Part of that advocacy runs through SGA task forces, which Lance and his team have reshuffled. Four task forces have been switched to single liaisons. He believes this will ultimately lead to more coordinated efforts. “In the past, these executive initiatives have focused on planning events. What we want to do is focus more on advocacy,” Lance explained.
Other parts of SGA will also be updated. Part of Salerno’s role as Student Body Secretary and communication. She plans for SGA to have a more robust Instagram and Facebook presence so that every member of the community, including parents, can keep up with campus events that matter to students. “Social media is what we’re really going to be emphasizing,” Salerno said.
One of the plans Salerno has for social media is making students aware of both public and personal safety resources, including anything from reporting Department of Public Safety (DPS) alerts to highlighting mental health resources on campus that students might not be familiar with. Lance agreed, saying, “The reality is the university is making positive changes, and we need to do our job by communicating those changes to students.”
Salerno and Lance also addressed recent discussions on campus about the intersection of Catholicism and diversity. “It’s important that we can acknowledge this,” said Salerno. “Everyone deserves to have their voice heard.”
Both Lance and Salerno emphasized that they are in positions that exist to advocate on behalf of the student body. As part of that, they want to hear from the students on whose behalf they are working.
“Come up to me, say hi to me, ask questions, I want to get to know you. I was elected into this position for a reason,”said Salerno. “If anyone is thinking about getting involved in SGA, I’m all around campus.”
Lance also encouraged students to connect, saying, “I want to get to know students personally.”
He also made clear that he will do all he can to make the collective voice of the student body heard. Lance said, “Any concerns students have, I will bring them to the [university] president’s office.”
