A day in the life of USUSA President Lucas Stevens
Each morning while many Utah State University students wake up early to attend their classes, jobs or other obligations, there is one who can be found sitting at a large, wooden desk on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center.
Utah State University Student Association President Lucas Stevens begins his day early, typically arriving at his office at around 8:00 a.m. He said staying home late into the day is not appealing to him.
Though he is available as a resource to mediate between the student body and USU’s administration and governing bodies, many students know very little about Stevens and the position he holds.
One such student is freshman Maya Cabrera who said she doesn’t know the exact duties of any Utah State University Student Association, or USUSA, position, let alone what Stevens does on a day-to-day basis.
“I would assume he is just kind of monitoring the student body and taking into account their interests or what they think needs to be changed on campus,” Cabrera said.
Another student, Ethan Lundwall, also said he didn’t know much about the student body president, though he thought it would be good to learn.
According to USU President Noelle Cockett, as the student body president of USU, Stevens is expected to represent students on issues that will impact them.
“The university leadership and the USU Board of Trustees look to the USUSA president to help us shape future actions, such as the vaccination declaration last semester, so that our implementation is the least disruptive, most advantageous for the majority of our students,” Cockett said. “We may not be able to accommodate every single student’s viewpoint, but it is vital that we know the range of viewpoints and we ask the presidents to provide that.”
One way students can start to become more familiar with Stevens and his role is by taking a close look at his day.
Once he is in his office in the mornings, Stevens typically starts his work by sending emails and communicating with constituents, advisers and university personnel.
“I probably send a minimum of five emails a day,” Stevens said. “Probably closer on average like eight, nine, 10 emails a day responding to different requests.”
During the rest of his time in his office, Stevens has an open-door policy and has been approached by different students bringing their concerns on topics such as Critical Race Theory, university vaccine policies, or coronavirus safety guidelines.
Acting as a mediator, Stevens takes these concerns to their respective committees and ensures that student voices and opinions are heard and considered in decision making processes without entirely compromising his own ideals.
USUSA officers are required to devote a minimum of 10 hours per week to be in their physical offices and accessible to students, though one could likely find Stevens at his desk more than the mandatory amount.
He uses his office as a home base on campus to eventually report back to when he leaves to attend classes, meetings or other obligations on campus.
When he gets hungry, Stevens typically doesn’t go far for food either and sticks to restaurants in the TSC.
“I’ll grab some dogs or sushi from The Quickstop or Marv N’ Joe. How’s that for a range of taste?” he said.
But like many others, when lunchtime comes around, he does have a go-to.
“I have a weird affinity for hot dogs,” Stevens said.
As morning turns to afternoon and afternoon to evening, Stevens will pause his work when he feels he has spent too much time sitting at a desk.
“When I need to take a break and leave the office, I’ll just go for a quick walk around campus because I’m an old man and I go for walks,” Stevens said. “We have such a beautiful campus.”
Another activity Stevens will engage in during his free time is table tennis.
He claims to have only ever lost one game on the tables sitting just outside his office on the third floor of the TSC.
Stevens said his day will end on campus around 8 or 9 p.m.
And though his daily routine may help students at USU to know more about who Stevens is, it doesn’t do much to outline his initiatives and accomplishments as president.
His proudest achievement while president has been allowing USU Eastern to adopt the USUSA Constitution and welcome them under one government
“I think that any way you slice it, it’s a positive thing,” Stevens said. “Any perspective you’re looking at it from, Logan students are going to benefit from a statewide perspective and university committees are going to benefit from a statewide student perspective.”
A false closet door in Stevens’ office opens to a wall signed by USU student body presidents over the last few decades. Stevens is quick to remember their accomplishments as scholars, entrepreneurs and overall successful people.
“There’s an interesting legacy that comes along with being student body president,” Stevens said. “It’s really cool to see people who have filled this position before me.”
-Brock.Marchant@usu.edu