Anna Lubitz manages to look put together and professional even on a Saturday morning. While most Stony Brook students meander their way into Starbucks wearing their most comfortable sweats, Lubitz wears a blazer in Seawolves red and is enthusiastic and upbeat without even ordering a coffee. It’s clear that she is the kind of person who gets more done before 8 a.m. than many of her peers would in an entire day.
This semester Lubitz managed to balance her 23 credit schedule with singing the national anthem at Basketball games, participating in and helping organize on campus events such as Earthstock and Elect Her, and heavily campaigning for the presidency.
Lubitz, an avid Star Wars fan and commuter who grew up very close to campus likes to say she’s been attending Stony Brook since the sixth grade, when she started spending her summers here at science camp.
“I have a driving passion for the University,” Lubitz said of her decision to run for president.
As a very active member of the campus community, she feels she understands what USG could do to have a stronger presence among the student body.
“It’s sad that a lot of students don’t know who is representing them,” she said. “I want the senators to get out of the office to really talk to people and see what is happening and what needs to happen.”
Lubitz is a member of many on campus clubs and organizations, including the Commuter Student Association and the Pre-Vet Society. Her involvement with clubs, as well as her position as a senator, has given her a unique perspective of the relationship USG has with such organizations.
“The combination of everything I’ve done has prepared me for this,” Lubitz said.
Lubitz, a member of the Seawolves for Change party, promised improved communication as a major part of her platform.
“We need to open up and reach out to more organizations,” Lubitz said. “People need to know and be reminded of deadlines and important dates.”
Her first step in closing the gap between USG and clubs would include making sure USG has up-to-date contact information for Executive Board members of clubs so that they can send out e-mails and notices to groups efficiently.
“It does no good if we have the e-mail address of the club president from 2009 listed,” Lubitz said.
She also would like to hold more town hall discussions for students to voice their opinions.
“I want to make Stony Brook a much closer community,” Lubitz said. “We are all representatives of the same school.”
Another of her proposed improvements for USG includes working with the Student Activities Board to plan bigger and better events.
“If you’re going to do it, you have to do it right,” Lubitz said of the major events on campus. “I want events that people will remember.”
In response to all the budget issues SAB has faced in the past two years, Lubitz thinks a better watch of the agency is necessary.
“They need a substantial budget to do what they do,” she said. “We have to closely monitor that large amount to make it work.”
Of all the things she has done on campus, there are several that stand out as inspiration for her choice to run. The Elect Her event, of which Lubitz served as a student liason and spoke at as part of a panel, held in mid-March was a major milestone for her campaign.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Lubitz said of the training session that Stony Brook was chosen for based on an application submitted by Executive Vice President Deborah Machalow.
“I was able to apply the lessons learned there to my campaign,” Lubitz said. “It made me more willing to take on this challenge.”
Lubitz also feels the class SOC 268: Theory and Practice in Student Leadership was beneficial to her campaign.
“I really learned about myself as a leader,” she said of the class.
As for all the clubs and organizations Lubitz is currently involved in, she will have to wait and see if her schedule next year will allow her to continue.
“My elected position comes first,” she said. “I don’t want to spread myself too thin.”
Jodie.Mann
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