ASG elects new executive cabinet positions

At Miami University’s Associated Student Government’s (ASG) April 11 meeting, the sitting senators voted and elected multiple executive cabinet positions. The positions include chief of staff, speaker of student senate, secretary of academic affairs, secretary of on-campus affairs and secretary of off-campus affairs.

Jack Isphording, a sophomore majoring in entrepreneurship and organizational leadership, was confirmed as chief of staff. Isphording was nominated by Nyah Smith, the student body president, for the position and was confirmed by the senate.

Isphording presented a platform that would present clear communication between both senators and their cabinet executives.

“I want to be collaborative. I want us to lead with compassion. I want us to feel like it's a safe space so we can bring up concerns and also work as well as we can in a cabinet meeting so it's gonna be very exciting,” Isphording said.

Tia Bakshi, a junior finance and information system major, was elected speaker of student senate. Bakshi previously held the role of speaker pro tempore and ran on a platform of transparency, community and wellness. During her time as speaker pro tempore, Bakshi enacted mental wellness checks within ASG.

“Inside of ASG there needs to be a mentor and mentoree system between senators,” Bakshi said. “If elected, I believe that focusing on individual and professional development will lead to having the greatest impact at Miami.”

Spencer Mandzak, a sophomore public administration major, was elected secretary of academic affairs. Mandzak ran unopposed and was part of the academic affairs committee prior to this appointment.

Mandzak ran on a platform based around student accessibility, career development and student life. Mandzak promoted a syllabus repository that would allow students to view a course syllabus before enrolling in a class.

“I’ve met with a lot of secretaries to expand on how we can create resources for students absolutely free that are accessible to all,” Mandzak said.

Grace Payne, a junior speech path and audiology and gerontology major, was reelected to secretary of on-campus affairs.

Payne’s platform for on-campus secretary differed from her run for Student Body Vice President earlier this semester by focusing more on student life and other issues. Several issues surrounded student wellness and living conditions.

“We are aware that students are struggling,” Payne said. “What will we do about it? A lot of our stress comes from academics which I believe could be helped with wellness days.”

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Payne later stated that the addition of wellness days would extend the academic calendar by a week.

Maryam Nawaz, a first-year psychology major, was elected to the position of secretary of off-campus affairs.

Nawaz has lived in Oxford for four years after moving from Pakistan. She created her platform based on her experience as an international student living off-campus in the community before and after enrolling at Miami.

Nawaz ran on a program of community connections including easing the burden of off-campus students. This included a collection of information of off-campus students to help future residents and a financial literacy workshop.

“We would create a database of information including housing information and then populate it with current information,” Nawaz said. “This includes houses, roommates and resources like utilities.”

ASG will hold its next meeting at 6 p.m. on April 18 in the Joslin Senate Chamber in Armstrong Student Center.

turmankd@miamioh.edu