By Erin Harker
As the 2001-2002 school year opens, Jeff Bailey is embarking on his senior year and his second consecutive term as president of Student Senate. According to him, “it feels wonderful.”
“I think I’m the only one in College history to serve two terms” as Senate president, Bailey said. “This term is of course my last one. This year feels more like I can relax, because I know what I’m doing. Senate saw what I was doing last year and was confident enough to re-elect me this year.”
As Student Senate President, Bailey leads Senate in addressing issues concerning the student body. Bailey and Senate have focused on issues in the past such as the alcohol policy, student ID numbers, and academic advising. Recently Senate has organized and planned several events. They have also helped with freshman orientation, the freshman walk, homecoming festivities, and several service projects. Bailey helped to organize several activities and created a few new traditions.
The most notable of the new traditions is “Dell Day.” Bailey said he and his Dell Day co-chair, senior John Bilich, put in a lot of work over a six month period in preparation for last spring’s inaugrual Dell Day, coordinating between departments and the media to find the best day. “John and I spent a lot of sleepless nights” preparing for Dell Day, according to Bailey.
Bailey said he hopes to improve upon some of the College’s events, including Dell Day. “We started to work better with the administration and created a couple of new traditions last year,” he said. “We hope to continue these traditions. We can’t say when Dell Day will be, but we have learned a lot from last year.” According to Bailey, there will be plenty of surprises at this year’s Dell Day.
Bailey has also set some goals for Senate, which he expects will improve the general environment on campus. He said he would like to improve Senate by generating interest in its procedures and activities. “We hope to bring new students out to Student Senate to get involved,” Bailey said. “My major goal would be to have Senate really working hard for the students.” He said he believes that if the Senate can discover what problems exist, they can do something to improve the setting on campus. “By working with the administration, staff, and students, we can work out problems and create a better campus.”
After his involvement with the student government at his high school, he “figured the next logical step would be college [government].” Bailey was the junior class president at his high school, and said that he enjoyed the position. His position in high school sparked an interest in government that he has carried over to college, where he is majoring in political science.
Bailey said he worked his way up to being president of Senate through a presentation he gave on the core curriculum reform. “People were impressed by how I handled the questions that were thrown at me,” he said. “I stepped it up a notch; people really started to respect me” after that presentation. He said that involvement in the Centennial Celebration his sophomore year also earned attention.
Bailey has established himself as a mainstay in the political arena here at the College. He said he hopes to use his involvement after college. “I’m hoping [my experience] will help me get a job, since I plan to work in the government. Hopefully I will someday be elected to office.”