Interview with Newly Elected President and VP Ft. Stanley and Bandaru

Grace Reynolds | greynolds@butler.edu

Last Wednesday, March 29th, juniors Katie Stanley and Suchi Bandaru were elected to the positions of President and Vice President of SGA for the 2023-2024 school year. Katie Stanley is a psychology major who has been involved with SGA and is also an active member of Delta Gamma. Suchi Bandaru is a health science major with a chemistry minor who is the Current Director of Diversity, Equity, and Student Belonging and Co-President of the South Asian Student Association. Suchi is also in Kappa Alpha Theta, is the Club Secretary in Club Tennis, a peer tutor on campus, and in the Pre-PA club. Below is an interview with the pair regarding their campaign and upcoming term.

Q: What made you decide to run for President and VP?

A: “This past year was my first year on SGA as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Student Belonging and I have been able to see all the in and outs of the student government association at Butler.  Through this experience, I have been able to grow so much as a student and leader on campus and I wanted to continue my involvement in SGA.  I wanted to be able to make an impact on campus and make sure that all student voices are heard and knew I could do this through the role of Vice President.” - Bandaru

“When I was applying to colleges, I was looking for a campus where I could get involved with student leadership. Before even officially enrolling in Butler, I had messaged the old SGA Instagram asking how I could get involved with SGA. After being a member of the Judicial Branch for a year, I realized that what I wanted to do was to get engaged in the external functions of SGA. Getting to meet new students and enact different initiatives made me excited, and was something that I felt was lacking from my time in the Judicial Branch, simply based upon the roles and functionality of the Branch. After making my greatest friends in this organization, they gave me the confidence to run for SGA president. I wanted to be able to be a voice for the students on campus and felt as though I had the resources and experience to do so, and as such, ran, and was elected by my peers. SGA gave me a place to belong on campus and I hope I can continue to create this environment for more students.” - Stanley

Q: What was your platform while running in the election? What were your three pillars?

A: “Three pillars (values) Katie and I ran on were integrity, commitment, and passion.  For integrity, we plan on hiring a director of finance and facilities to the executive cabinet.  In addition, we will rewrite the vision, mission, and value statements to reflect the current state of SGA. Through commitment, we want to renovate the HRC and add an “energy bar” similar to the one that used to be present for snacks, smoothies, protein shakes, etc.  Furthermore, we want to expand the Uber program for students to have free rides to religious services around Indianapolis and Broad Ripple on the weekends.  In passion, we focused on advocating for students and student organizations. We want to make Block Party for students of all years and highlight student organizations and their events in the Carillon.”

Q: How do you plan to accomplish these goals?

A: “We plan on accomplishing these goals by being strategic with who we are hiring for our director positions. We want to be sure that our cabinet shares our vision and passion for engagement and advocacy, but also will work as a team. One of the strengths of the executive cabinet is that, while everyone oversees their own board, the directors, Chief of Staff, Vice President, and President work together to ensure that the campaign platform is enacted. Suchi and I believe in the accountability of seeing the change happen, and want students to know that there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to make the magic happen, which is also why it is so important for our directors to be engaged with our platform as well so that while the big picture projects are happening we are still receiving feedback and support from around campus.”

Q: What change would you like to see be made within SGA?

A: “One thing we would like to see change within the executive cabinet is the addition of a Director of Finance and Facilities.  This director would oversee the audit board and initiatives surrounding university life.  They would work with facilities and operations about a variety of student concerns such as lighting and accessibility on campus.  Furthermore, they would collaborate with human resources about employment and be SGA’s designated members on the parking committee.  It is also very important to Katie and me that there is unity from all 3 branches of SGA.  We want to make sure that all SGA members are aware of everyone’s roles and responsibilities and how we can all collaborate to get the best results for students on campus.”

Q: What change would you like to see made on campus?

A: “Suchi and I would love to see more engagement with the administration with student events and their programming. There is so much to be said about engagement with campus and the success of the students, and we think that there should be a more obvious attitude of care between people. We would also love to start motivating students and our administration to return to the attitude of engagement that existed before the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Q: What do you perceive to be your biggest challenge moving forward?

A: “Recreating a sense of unity between all three branches, as well as engaging students who do not serve in director roles. It is important to Suchi and me that we have an organization that supports all of the students it represents, but also doesn’t leave anyone behind in the process. We want to engage all members of the campus, and in particular, members of the organization so that when people ask “What does SGA even do?” they have an answer.”

Q: Anything else you would like to share?

A: “Apply for Director Positions and Board positions when they open up!”