Nick Russo, the vice president of residential and commuter affairs, will soon take over as financial controller of the Student Government Association, pending approval from the business department.
The seat was vacated by Miranda Bushey during the fall semester. The SGA voted to show confidence in Russo for the position during Wednesday’s meeting.
In other news, members of the SGA traveled to Montpelier Wednesday for the tuition committee meeting, in which the Board of Trustees and students from Lyndon and Johnson State College made presentations about their opinions of a tuition increase.
“We were able to give a lot of input,” SGA President John Kleinhans said, “It was great to have students there to comment.”
The Board of Trustees is expected to approve a four percent tuition increase next week for Lyndon students for the next academic year.
“Luckily, with four percent it’s not going to be as dramatic,” newly elected fourth-year representative Tim Cappalli said of budget cuts at LSC. Cappalli is also a student representative for the Board of Trustees.
Kleinhans said that the SGA will be holding a series of lobbying days in Montpelier so that members of the board are able to hear personal stories about tuition costs directly from students.
Cappalli was unoptimistic about the future of higher education worldwide as tuition costs rise everywhere.
“It’s going to require a complete overhaul of the system,” he said.
More students were added to the elected representative seats during Wednesday’s meeting as well. Sam Lubke is now a second-year rep, Emily Buckley is a third-year rep, Amanda Curran is a first-year rep, and Tim Cappalli is a fourth-year rep.