Spring Arbor University Crusader

Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Amy Dodds illustration of SAU President Chris Ruikka and Vice President Justin Slager

This year students were pleased to find on campus a new, freshly painted outdoor basketball court during the fall and a skating rink during the winter. While many have enjoyed using the new facilities, few understand the work that went into getting them.

Student body Vice President Justin Slager said, "People see the basketball courts and the hockey rink and just think that they popped up."

Student Body President Chris Ruikka and Slager put in a lot of time and planning into improving campus facilities this year.

"There's a lot of little things that we do to make the campus better," said Slager in reference to Ruikka and himself.

However, it's not just adding new facilities on campus that this president and vice president duo work on. The two of them put in an average of six to seven hours a week in meetings and events, although they both say that their amount of work depends on the time of year.

Slager and Ruikka are the leaders of the Student Government Association as a whole. SGA consists of several different cabinets, including the Multicultural Student Organization (MSO), the International Student Organization (ISO), the student activities cabinet (TYRO), spiritual life and intramurals.

The president and vice president lead weekly meetings with all SGA members to receive reports from all the cabinets and make sure that they have adequate resources and funding. Each cabinet receives a fixed budget, and the leaders of each cabinet determine how their money is spent. Ruikka and Slager oversee all of the cabinets and make sure they are creating effective events and using their money well. The money that SGA receives comes from a $50 fee that each SAU student pays every year.

Ruikka also is a member of the President's Council, which includes Spring Arbor University President Gerald Bates, Vice President for Academic Affairs Betty Overton-Adkins and Chief of Staff Damon Seacott. The council meets once a month, and Ruikka represents not only Student Government Association but also the student body.

"I've tried to push some ideas. The biggest one has been adding cross cultural cost to tuition," said Ruikka.

Continued...

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