Adil Hussain's Responses

Political Science, Minor in Business Management, Pre-Nursing

Sophomore

1. Out of all the 16,000 students on campus, what makes you the most deserving student to influence the more $3.1 million budget funded by our student activity fee?

All students who pay the student activity fee are given the right to influence the $3.1 million budget. If the question is who is most qualified to manage the budget and distribute it equally among students in order to improve campus life? Then I am the candidate to serve the student body best.

2. What experience do you bring to the position you are running for? Why are you qualified?

As the Vice President of Academic Affairs of USG, I have successfully managed my agency by providing a free tutoring service to students and advertising other academic resources that would allow them to excel in their classes. I have also gone above and beyond my duties to coordinate events such as Roth Regatta successfully, twice. Thus my leadership and management skills are unquestionable. With my experience in graphic design and marketing, I have helped advertise for many clubs across campus including The Statesman “Sex Issue” and Stony Brook Secrets.

3. Is this your first time getting involved in USG? If so, why are you interested in getting involved? If not, why do you wish to be involved again?

As a current member of the executive council, it is clear that there are many issues with the structure of USG and their attitude toward students. USG has lost focus of their purpose to “serve” the student body and many candidates are motivated by a paycheck and their own advancement.

4. What do you think is the best thing about USG and if elected, how do you plan to continue that?

This is a difficult question to answer because almost all things in USG can and should be improved.

5. On a scale of 9-10* (10 being the highest) how successful were the past two semesters for USG?

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6. What are USG’s biggest flaws, and how do you plan to correct those? For those currently in USG, what have you done to try to correct those flaws?

USG lacks the necessary management skills to remain effective and efficient. When elected as the Vice President of Academic Affairs in the FALL of 2011, my predecessor had over-spent my yearly budget prior to my election and not kept any paperwork on where the money had gone. Thus, I reformed the program to ensure it would run efficiently and effectively in the future and under their given budget. Furthermore, I created a manual and database for my successor which was not provided to me when I had been “trained”. SAB/SPA departments need complete restructuring which I have already proposed a plan for. The ineffectiveness of the Office of Communications within and outside of USG must be evaluated and corrected for many people do not know what USG is or that they pay for it. I have and continue to address this issue and have already devised a plan to increase efficiency.

7. Do you think its right for USG to give SAB the same budget next year despite a surplus of over 100,000 for this year?

SAB’s budget should not have been allowed to deprive clubs and other organizations of their funding and opportunity to put on events.

8. Do you think that putting on successful campus events should be prioritized over increasing clubs’ budgets?

Campus life should be a priority for USG. It is evident that USG events have attracted attention of many but have not served our wide demographic of students. Clubs help promote diversity and influence campus life and therefore should be prioritized in regards to the improvement of campus life.

9. Representing the student body sometimes means taking a firm stance against administration policies. How willing are you to speak up on behalf of the student body, even when it means conflicting with administrators?

During my time in office, I have successfully taken a firm stance against administration policies. On the issue of the academic calendar, I had requested that the student government be in shared governance in the eyes of the administration and successfully mandated that students be given reading days during finals week and no finals on weekends. In addition to this, I asked administration to address the students directly to answer any questions that they may have. I have also coordinated events that were successful among students but questioned by administration. With research to support my actions and rhetoric, I excelled in my negotiations with administration and continue to do so.