A student (left) shakes hands with Freshman Class Senator Christian Soulos (right) after the committees concluded at the Howard A. White Center (HAWC) on Feb. 4. President H.L. McCullough said SGA did not have committees when he was a freshman. Photos by Oliver Evans
The Pepperdine Student Government Association (SGA) held its first committee meetings at the Howard A. White Center (HAWC) on Feb. 4.
Additionally, SGA hosted Kent Syler, a professor of political science and public policy at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
“With regards to committees, this is really your opportunity to talk to people who are passionate,” SGA Adviser Danielle Minke said. “I really encourage you all to lead the conversation and make it lively.”
Town Hall Updates
Class senates had to submit designs for class merchandise by Feb. 6, McCullough said. Class senates also had to choose ideas for class prizes for the cornhole tournament winners at the town hall by Feb. 11. Class funds will be used to pay for prizes.
Vice President Jacqueline Justiss thanked Senior Class President Julian Moghaddasi and Senior Class Senators Tiffany Kwon and Gavin Legos for tabling the day before the meeting. SGA members were instructed to reach out to Adrianna Cañas, vice president of administration, regarding tabling in the coming weeks to promote the town hall or increase visibility for each class senate.
McCullough, Vice President Jacqueline Justiss, Senior Class President Julian Moghaddasi and Senior Class Senator Gavin Legos have a conversation in the HAWC on Feb. 4. Moghaddasi said he felt competition between the classes kept everyone’s work good, including the hoodies.
Tension Around Merchandise Advertising
McCullough said SGA’s goal for this town hall is to get as many students as possible and to get people to show up with their friend groups. It would not make sense for a sophomore who is friends with juniors to attend a junior town hall, which is why they are not advertising the hoodies.
“I’m not the class president of every class, I’m the senior class president,” Moghaddasi said. “My focus is on them and what they want, not what others want.”
Minke said she hoped they were doing a great job of advertising the core activity, and Raising Cane’s and potentially donuts or beignets would be offered. She said she hears Moghaddasi when he says people want to see the merch, but she thinks it’s fun if it’s ‘you have to come to see it’ type thing.
“We’re really looking at it from a fair playing field, because this is the first time we’ve done a joint town hall,” McCullough said. “Historically, the town halls have been individual, by grade.”
Moghaddasi asked whether the senior class could table to show their class merchandise before the town hall. He said he understood not advertising the merchandise, but everyone is asking the Senior Senate, “What does our senior hoodie look like? Should we come?”
“I will say this, as far as the senior class goes, the senior merchandise is going to be, hands down, probably the best merchandise we’ve had,” McCullough said. “It’s going to be similar to last semester’s merchandise, which was extremely popular among students.”
A WKRN-TV newsreel from 1987 depicts Kent Syler alongside Bob Clement, then-Tennessee candidate for the House of Representatives. After his retirement in 2011, Middle Tennessee State University asked him to teach a campaign management class, Syler said.
Guest Speaker
Syler is H.L.’s family friend who has been involved in just about every sector of politics, from local to federal, McCullough said. Syler got his start in student government.
Syler said he was the campaign manager for former Congressman Bart Gordon in 1984 and his subsequent re-election campaigns, and served as his Tennessee Chief of Staff from 1985 until 2011, the year of his retirement, according to Syler’s MTSU webpage.
“Student government really changed my life,” Syler said.
After talking about his rise from freshman class senator to president of MTSU’s SGA during his time as an undergraduate, Syler said the political bug had him. He got involved in some political campaigns, and his first job in politics was driving the sound truck for a gubernatorial candidate.
“That was my junior year of college,” Syler said. “Through student government, I met a former student body president named Bart.”
Around the time he was graduating, Gordon had become the chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party and needed someone to help him out, Syler said.
“I was his only employee,” Syler said. “Ronald Reagan had just swept the nation with the presidency.”
Tennessee during that time was still a state mostly held by the Democratic Party, Syler said. But the party was in debt, and Syler and Gordon had to spend their first few years getting things put back together.
“Our local congressman — who was Albert Gore, Jr. — decided to run for the US Senate and vacate his House seat,” Syler said. “That opened the door to a race for Congress, which we were lucky enough to win.”
Syler said they held that seat for 26 years until his retirement in 2011. In those 26 years with Gordon, they had some tough races along the way.
“All of that really became possible because of the experience that I got along the way at the SGA,” Syler said.
One thing people don’t know about congressional offices is that a lot of what they do is case work, Syler said. Case work is constituent service, which is essentially customer service, and it was something he and Gordon were extremely good at.
“It’s the reason we were able to hang around so long in a district that continually trended partisanship-wise against us,” Syler said. “We were able to keep getting elected because we have helped people.”
Syler said they were the federal government; regardless of whether they were responsible for a particular problem, they would help someone figure out how to get help. People would remember if they said, “That’s not our job.”
Vice President Jacqueline Justiss speaks to two students after the committees concluded in the HAWC on Feb. 4. Howdy’s burritos were handed out to students as they exited the HAWC after the SGA meeting.
First Committees of the Semester
The last hours of all SGA meetings this month will be dedicated to committees, Justiss said. SGA members should prepare thoughtful questions for administrators at the next committee meeting Feb. 11.
“We wanted to give you today to make sure that everyone knows what they’re going to be talking about,” Justiss said.
Every committee will have someone from the administration meet with them Feb. 11, Justiss said. Matthew Rosato, director of marketing and events for Pepperdine Athletics, will speak with the Athletics Committee, and Tim Spivey, vice president of spiritual life, will speak with the Spiritual Life Committee. The liaison for the Student-Life and Dining Services Committees was still being worked out.
“I really admired SGA for everyone’s passion towards creating a better life for students,” sophomore Keira Leshinskie said. “Also realized how SGA faces a lot more obstacles than I thought. I think it’s a lot easier said than done.”
Sophomore Katie Havers said it was cool SGA was getting input from non-members. They are trying to make the student body as happy as possible.
“I hope to just contribute more ideas and also learn about more of the processes that make student life happen,” Leshinskie said.
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Contact Oliver Evans via email: oliver.evans@pepperdine.edu