Commuter Student Association | Graphic by Monica Brutto | The Wright State Guardian
Recently, the Student Government Association and the Commuter Student Association revealed changes in executive leadership structure.
Change in leadership
CSA welcomed Justin Palmer, a biomedical engineering student and student senator, as a new co-president of the organization. Palmer explained the personal meaning of the commuter organization.
“CSA is a way for all of the commuter students to connect with one another. Our goal is to keep students updated about various campus events and services that are accessible to them as well as questions and problems of commuters,” Palmer said.
The two organizations
Earlier this year, SGA welcomed Alaina Collins as the new vice president; to read more about this change, visit a previous Wright State Guardian story.
SGA shares many goals as CSA; however, the governing body focuses on the student body as a whole. Each position of SGA represents a different group on campus, and these people come together to advocate for students and to voice interests to the Wright State administration, according to Palmer.
“We come together to build projects, help out with events and try to tackle any issues students may be facing,” Palmer said.
In December 2022, SGA and CSA began discussing changes to the structure of each organization.
The previous vice president at SGA received an opportunity to study abroad and stepped down from the position, according to Collins, the current co-president of CSA and vice president of SGA. CSA’s decision to split the presidency was geared toward a smooth position transition.
“We are co-presidenting right now because I have been in the position for a year and a half, and Justin has been in the position for two weeks. It will be a gradual release, but I hope to let him take full leadership,” Collins voiced.
The role of president can be challenging, as it includes meeting with the executive board at Wright State as well as having many other members report to you, according to Collins.
“I gave him the framework that has been working for us the last year or so, but it will be his organization to change at the end of the day,” Collins said.
Palmer supports Collins’ guide for running CSA, explaining the meaning of the co-president’s support.
“[Collins] helps out a lot and has been a great role model of how the president position should look,” Palmer said.
Both Palmer and Collins agreed that a split presidency is beneficial for CSA. Blake Bailey, the president of SGA, believes the split presidency at CSA is a good idea for any organization to transition between former and new people in positions.
“I think it’s beneficial right now. I think if I threw Justin to the deep end, he would be very lost on what he needs to be doing with the [organization]. I think it’s helpful for now,” Collins said.
Palmer added that the transition has been a lot smoother having Collins to guide the presidential role.
Looking forward
CSA and SGA share goals to collaborate with other groups and run events across campus collectively, according to Palmer. SGA is currently working on 35 different student-centric initiatives and goals for the end of the semester, in accordance with Bailey.
“Above all, we want everyone to feel included and want to make sure everyone knows about our organization,” Palmer said.
