After an unexpected resignation from the student body president, SGA confirmed the student body vice president and new senators at their Sept. 12 senate meeting. 

The confirmation followed the resignation of former President Aidan Clark, who stepped down due to personal reasons, and the appointment of then Vice President Carson Hodges as president, leaving behind a vice president vacancy.  

Aidan Burke was appointed by the Appointments Advisory Committee, the committee in charge of interviewing candidates for unfilled SGA positions, and approved by a unanimous vote from the senate as vice president. 

Burke, a junior at UCCS, has been involved with SGA for one semester as the senator of sustainability. He also has experience working on campus as an RA. 

Student Body President Carson Hodges spoke to the senate as a representative for Burke before he was confirmed. “I can definitely work well with Aidan, and, also, I’ve seen over the years last year that Aidan is a very, very dedicated senator and he’s gotten some very interesting projects accomplished,” Hodges said.   

Burke said one of his notable accomplishments as a senator was working with the Office of Information Technology to restore the functionality of the El Pomar Center clock tower in March 2024. He estimates that the tower remained functional for two months before it broke again. 

“I think the clock tower was a pivotal moment that really made me realize what you can accomplish at SGA,” he said, “but I think it does highlight a quality of mine: that I can think outside the box.” 

As vice president, Burke intends to improve communication with students, specifically freshmen, to get them more connected with SGA. “I’ve had experiences as a RA where I hear things from students who don’t know SGA exists or don’t have the confidence to come up here and talk to a senator,” he said.  

After Burke’s confirmation as vice president, the senator of sustainability position is unoccupied, but Burke said he is working to find someone to fill it. 

Two senator positions were also filled at the meeting. 

Jordan Reynolds was confirmed as senator of the arts in a unanimous vote and plans to use her experience in the VAPA department through her minor in dance to address the disconnect that students involved in the arts feel from main campus.  

Reynolds said that VAPA students felt that their grief went unheard following the deaths of department members Haleh Abghari, Robert von Dassanowsky and Samuel Knopp and that the healing events were only focused on the main campus. 

“I thought about it and before I became a dance minor, I didn’t even know students were down there, so I hope to kind of provide them some community and connect them to the things that are up here and the amazing people that serve in SGA to kind of help them facilitate community and grow,” Reynolds said. 

As the senator of the arts, Reynolds has goals to improve how information about SGA is facilitated among students, and how students can make their voices heard by members of SGA. 

“I would love to see students actually asking questions in the meetings, not asking why this is happening, but seeing why it’s happening.” Reynolds said. 

Bridget Guerrero, a doctorate student in Organizational Leadership, was confirmed as the senator of business. She plans to use her experience as the Director of Internal Operations for the Colorado Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program and previous senator of graduate school to support students in their professional development post-graduation. 

As the founder of the non-profit organization One World Quest, Guerrero has worked to develop educational programs and provided UCCS students with career growth opportunities. 

As the senator of business, Guerrero hopes to leave a legacy for students after her graduation in May by stabilizing the educational programs she is developing to ensure the long-term sustainability of these programs. 

“I want to really go, and not just speak to the dean [of the College of Business], but speak to the students and say, ‘What is going on? What do we need?’ I mean, obviously, as a business person myself, as an owner, as a student, I have an idea of what I want to do, but I want to hear from them,” Guerrero said. 

In other news: 

• SGA passed the Snack Bill which will fund snacks for SGA meetings. This bill will allocate $1,308, including GAR, to allow SGA to purchase snacks in bulk biweekly with a budget of $70 for food and $30 for drinks for 12 periods, not including fall break, spring break and finals weeks. 

• SGA passed the Homecoming Bill, which will allocate $1644.10, including GAR, for SGA to provide fire pits, lemonade, hot chocolate and s’mores at the homecoming bonfire on Sept. 26. 

• Senior Executive Director of Student Life & Assessment Brad Bayer announced that the homecoming tailgate event on Sept. 26 will be combined with a 1,000 neighborhood gatherings celebration, an initiative started by Mayor Yemi Mobolade to have 1,000 gatherings in Colorado Springs to improve community mental health. Bayer encouraged alumni to come to this event. 

  Graphic by Lexi Petri, The Scribe.