Utah State Eastern students vote to unite EUSA and USUSA
Students at Utah State Eastern voted to have the Eastern Utah Student Association, or EUSA, adopt the Utah State University Student Association, or USUSA, constitution on Wednesday, Oct. 6 in a special election.
USUSA announced the decision in a press release, calling it a major milestone in the organization’s history.
USUSA President Lucas Stevens and USUSA Statewide President Braxton Evans joined EUSA President Bryson Pugh on the USU Eastern campus to campaign in support of the referendum.
113 students voted in favor of the change, and 25 students voted in opposition. This is greater than the two-thirds required for the referendum to pass. Of the 1,460 students enrolled at USU Eastern, only 9.5% voted.
The passing of the referendum means that USUSA will now represent all students at each of USU’s 30 campuses and centers statewide.
The EUSA remained separate from USUSA when the College of Eastern Utah transitioned to USU Eastern in 2010.
Under the previous system, USU Logan students were represented on the Logan executive council and USU statewide students were represented on the statewide executive council, and all students were represented by their respective colleges in the academic senate.
USU Eastern students previously elected their own separate officers under EUSA, which held its own constitution.
“I am excited that we have voted to pass this change that will greatly improve how the USU Eastern student government can function and serve the student body,” Pugh said in the press release. “We have increased the opportunities for our students, both current and future, and now have a direct line of communication and representation with our statewide partners.”
Alongside the adoption of the new constitution, eastern students will now be able to participate in elections for the executive leadership board, which will include a student body president, executive vice president and student advocate vice president.
The introduction of this board ensures that Logan and statewide students will be united in choosing a single USUSA presidency to oversee student government.
Additionally, eastern students will now have the opportunity to elect their respective college senators, who represent the university’s colleges in the academic senate.
Celeste Rodriguez, who currently represents the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, or CHaSS, on the USU academic senate, said she was really excited about the changes made in the referendum.
“It is definitely going to take some adjusting, but I think it will be very exciting,” Rodriguez said. “Being a senator for all CHaSS students across the state is very important to me.”
Rodriguez also said that representing every campus statewide will be an adjustment, and won’t be easy but hopes that visiting the campuses as student representatives will allow for a better transition to this change.
Price students will also join other statewide campuses and centers in electing service region councils to oversee campus-specific programming and other facets. These councils are led by the service region vice presidents sitting on the statewide executive council.
“The decision of Eastern students to join USUSA will empower their student leaders to best serve and represent the unique needs of their campus,” Evans said in the press release. “As representatives of USU’s statewide campuses and centers, we are tasked with addressing the diverse needs of and issues affecting statewide students. The voices of USU Eastern are essential to the statewide experience, and we are excited to have them on our team.”
The EUSA president’s title will be changed to the Eastern Service Region Vice President.
The Logan executive council will also be maintained to oversee student life on the USU main campus.
These changes will have no effect on USU Eastern sports, mascots, or other traditions.
Shelby Green, a freshman at the USU main campus, was unaware of the referendum. After discussing it, Green said she agreed with USU Eastern adopting the USUSA Constitution.
“All USU students should fall under the same umbrella,” Green said. “I’m glad that every campus will have resources for their own individual needs, and it’s nice to think that every USU student will be represented fairly.”
The new provisions of the USUSA constitution, which were originally voted on in February of 2021, will be implemented during the 2022 USUSA general elections. Students elected in February and March will be inaugurated in April.
“From Price to Logan, we are all proud to be students of Utah State,” Pugh said in the press release. “We look forward to what our new student government will do for our students here at Eastern as well as those all around the state.”
Current USUSA officers statewide are working with staff to review and pass new bylaws for the next student government.
More information about the implementation of the new USUSA constitution and the 2022 general elections is expected to be available in November.
-Jared.Adams@usu.edu