It’s been four months since Maxwell Simonson and Lily MacDonald were elected student body president and vice president. During their campaigns, they promised enhancement of student life, increased communication with the student body, and more on-campus events. COVID-19 put a damper on their plans as they were unable to operate on campus with most of their constituents in the first few months of their terms.

As the fall 2021 semester begins, Simonson and MacDonald intend on keeping their promises, starting with finding effective ways to communicate with the student body.

Increased communication with the student body

Simonson and MacDonald believe that the best way to connect with the student body is by attending their events and meetings ﹣ so that’s what they’ve been doing since the semester started.

“I go to at least three RSO meetings a week,” Simonson said. “I’m not just a figurehead, I’m involved in the student body.” RSOs are registered student organizations on-campus that are recognized by the university.

He has attended meetings held by the Black Student Union, Greek life, and Hillel so far.

MacDonald attended a Hillel event with Simonson as well as meetings held by the National Organization for Women and Multicultural Programming. 

Both leaders want students to know that they can come to them with any comments or concerns they may have.

“If [students] come up to me and say, ‘this is a need that needs to be done,’ I love to hear that,” Simonson said. 

MacDonald believes that students may not know that SG can actually bring about change if students voice their concerns to them. 

“President Simonson sits on the Board of Trustees. He has a genuine voice in major university decisions that really affect students,” she said. “If you need anything, please reach out to us. We are really open to feedback and we do have a voice.”

MacDonald says that the best way to contact Student Government is through social media and personal emails. See their contact information below.

Maxwell Simonson:

[email protected]

@maxwellsimonson on Instagram

Lily MacDonald:

[email protected]

Student Government:

@sgatfau on Instagram

Student Union, room 215

A better understanding of diversity

MacDonald says that she is prioritizing putting students first this semester and will start by learning about the different issues students face.

“Being a white student is a very different experience than being a minority student. They may encounter a lot of different issues or problems that I may not encounter, so I think it’s really important, with us being one of the most diverse universities in America and in Florida, that we hear from all students because we are here to advocate for every single student,” she said.

MacDonald said that she plans to sit down with clubs that celebrate diversity to discuss the issues that she doesn’t experience personally.

She explained that there is a new art piece in the works that is designed to celebrate the university’s diversity. The mural, which is going to depict owl wings, will be painted on the side of Indian River Towers.

More on-campus events

Simonson and McDonald are planning an increased number of events this year, including bringing adoptable animals on campus to help students cope with stress.

“For a part of Less Stress Week, we’re planning on getting an adoption center or certified animal center that will be able to bring dogs or puppies to campus,” MacDonald said. “We also did goat yoga last year and got a lot of positive feedback from that, so we believe we are going to do that for the spring as well.”

Collaboration with the university’s food pantry

Simonson told the UP that after he heard that students were having issues with parking, he began working on an initiative to help.

“If you get a ticket and can give us food to give to the [food] pantry … we’ll pay for [your] ticket,” he said. 

Students can contact SG for more details on how to trade non-perishable food for their parking tickets.

The food donated goes to the Beyond Food Program, which supplies students experiencing food insecurity with a three day food supply.

“A lot of students aren’t aware that we have a food pantry on campus and I’ve really been trying to destroy the stigma that comes with going to a food pantry,” MacDonald said. “It is not embarrassing. If you need food, FAU is here to help students.”

Kendall Little is the Managing Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet her @klittlewrites.