The Journal

Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: News

Elizabeth Eisele.

Heather Sweeney.

Beginning fall 2007, junior broadcast journalism major Elizabeth Eisele will assume presidency of the Student Government Association.


Eisele, who is currently a communications senator, said she was encouraged by her adviser, broadcast journalism professor Eileen Solomon, to run for president.


"Eileen said we have to keep the dynasty of broadcast students being elected SGA president alive," Eisele said.


The last two SGA presidents, Webster alumnus Trevor Zickgraf and senior Gabe Bullard, have also been broadcast journalism majors.


"I hadn't thought about running for president," Eisele said. "But when Eileen mentioned it to me, I thought, 'Hey, I could do that.'"


A commuter from Florissant, Mo., Eisele's chief goal for the 2007-2008 school year is to get students who live off-campus involved in school activities. She said she plans to converse with her executive board as well as poll commuters for ideas on how to make campus events more accessible to off-campus residents.


Some challenges Eisele anticipates as president of SGA include finding ways to get students excited about university events, increasing cooperation between student organizations and continuing to talk with administrators, many of whom are hard to contact.


Eisele said she has learned a lot from her predecessors, Bullard and fall semester's interim president Dee Goines. She said, like Bullard and Goines, she hopes to motivate members of SGA and delegate responsibilities to each member as opposed to shouldering them on her own.


"Though I've gained a lot of experience from my year spent on SGA, I will probably handle things differently than past presidents, because I'm a girl," Eisele said. "I will bring a different perspective."


Eisele belongs to a number of campus organizations, including Campus Activities, for which she works as a program manager, and the Student Activities Council.


She also is a member of Webster's danceline and plays outfield and second base for the university's softball team. Eisele and fellow broadcast journalism major Phil Hearn co-host a radio show on The Galaxy called "The Training Room," which airs from noon to 2 p.m. every Tuesday.


Eisele said she plans to use her campus connections to help design events that will attract more members of the student body. In particular, Eisele would like to see more people attend sporting events.


"I belong to so many campus organizations," Eisele said. "I've got an iron in the fire."


Junior vocal performance major Heather Sweeney was elected vice president of SGA. Sweeney currently serves as a fine arts senator for the organization.


Already a residential assistant for the Webster Village Apartments Building 5, Sweeney said her work as SGA vice president would allow her to become even more involved on campus.


"As an RA, I keep seeing all these things I'd like to improve," Sweeney said. "I thought the best way to make campus improvements would be to get on the executive board."


One area in which Sweeney sees room for improvement is communication between students and faculty.


"Webster has an amazing faculty and an amazing administration," Sweeney said. "I think a lot of students are unaware of that."


As vice president, Sweeney hopes to expand dialogue between Webster students and the administration. She said good communication and cooperation is crucial in order to facilitate change and work toward similar goals.


"We have to work together to make sure we are on the same page," Sweeney said.


Sweeney said the vice president's main role is to fill budget requests submitted by student organizations.


"I would like to support as many organizations as possible," Sweeney said. "It's important to fund their growth and to remember the knowledge they acquire on student trips they bring back to Webster."


Additionally, Sweeney said she would like to see SGA flourish as a group. She said, in order for the organization to grow, people within and outside SGA must take its work seriously.


"I'd like SGA to have more of a campus presence," Sweeney said. "Right now, we're just a group of anonymous people who meet every other Tuesday to talk."


Sweeney describes herself as a huge music buff. When she's not performing with Webster's opera, jazz or choral ensembles, she likes to listen to other artists' music. Some of her favorite musicians include jazz legends Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. She also enjoys listening to operas.


Next year, Sweeney will be an RA in West Hall. Though her work as an RA is often time-consuming, Sweeney manages to run three miles every day, a hobby she said is stress-relieving.

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