President Cockett visits Eastern campus Monday
Campaigns for students to become part of USU Student Association
Utah State University Eastern studies have an important decision to make during the 2022-23 election on October 6.
USU Eastern has been part of the Utah State statewide campus system since the merger with the College of Eastern Utah in 2010. Since then, Eastern has operated mostly separate from the Logan offices. This has been especially prevalent in the area of student government.
Students who attend USU Eastern interact with the Eastern Utah Student association, meaning everything done in Price is decided on the Price campus. In October, a change is on the docket that would merge EUSA with the USU Student Association in Logan.
EUSA would still be active on this campus, but they would also report and connect with the executive officers in the USUSA to plan events and share opinions on decisions being made for the student body.
The argument proposed by University President Noelle Cockett is that Eastern students represent a substantial amount of the Utah State student body, but those students do not have the same opportunities as those in Logan and other connected statewide campuses.
The reason that the change hasn’t happened yet is the existing constitution of USU Eastern. A decision to make a change of this nature must be approved by a 2/3 majority of Eastern students. The proposal change was put up to a vote in a previous election and was not passed. The vote total wasn’t met by only two votes.
Sami Ahmed and former EUSA president Sione Siaki were the two originators of this plan. If it is passed, students who attend Eastern will be given an equal voice in decision making for the university, even being given a spot on the USU Board of Trustees. Students on all campuses will be eligible to run for USUSA President, regardless of physical location.
A common concern among students when decisions like these are proposed is the potential loss of the Eastern identity, but President Cockett assured students that nothing would change for the Eagles. The students would just be receiving a larger say in university policy.
President Cockett visited the USU Eastern campus on Sept. 20, 2021, to share the information about this proposed change. She did the presentation along with USU Eastern Associate Vice-President Greg Dart in the USU Eastern alumni room.
President Cockett could be seen mingling with the students and faculty before and after the event. She asked many of the students in attendance why they chose to attend USU and, more specifically, USU Eastern. She was giving students time to get to know her and interact with her in an attempt to show students that the new change is all about connecting with the entire student body.
The voting for this proposition takes place in the multi-purpose room in the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center on Oct. 6, 2021.
