The Government of the Student Body wants to build on what it has already done.

Daniel Fischer, GSB president and senior in agricultural business, said he hopes to carry the momentum of last semester over in to the remainder of his term. Fischer said continuing good communication within GSB is a top priority for this semester.

Fischer also said continuing work on plans to implement a landlord tenant liason position in the Ames City Council is a top priority. However, Fischer said the original proposal needed to be scaled down because of the current economic situation. The sources contributing money to the project have not been finalized, but Fischer said allocations from GSB would be used to aid the development. Currently, GSB executive branch is researching ways to scale back the project.

Fischer said GSB “still wants to develop a type of resource for students” dealing with landlord and tenant disputes, despite the complications faced with funding the project.

Fischer said they are discussing an online format for this project in which information regarding the topic of landlord and tenant issues would be posted online, instead of creating a “central office” for the landlord-tenant liason. Fischer said no formal discussion regarding the changes to the project has happened with the city of Ames yet.

Maggie Luttrell, GSB vice president and senior in history,is optimistic about the success of the organization for the rest of the year.

“Hopefully we continue the momentum we picked up last semester,” Luttrell said. “I’d like to continue on the same path and make sure we’re doing all we can to aid students.”

She hopes to continue working on improving financial literacy at Iowa State. Last semester, Luttrell began making efforts to implement a one-credit financial literacy course. She said starting this class and making sure the issue of financial literacy is a priority was a component of her campaign platform.

The first meeting of the semester for GSB will be held on Wednesday. The meeting will be a time for the organization to reconvene and take care of housekeeping items and “get everything back in order” said Jonathan Turk, speaker of the senate and junior in political science.

A senator will be nominated to fill an open seat in the rules committee at Wednesday’s meeting. Because there were a number of senators who graduated at the end of the fall semester, or resigned because of scheduling conflicts, there are five senate seats that need to be filled. Constituency council members are currently looking for students to fill these positions.

Luttrell also said she hopes the election for next year’s executive branch runs smoothly.

The election timeline is currently set and people interested in participating in the election can participate in candidate seminars held by the election commissioner and the executive branch. Once those interested in running for GSB office have been to a seminar, they are eligible to begin campaigning.

GSB will be sending out a survey for students to fill out regarding issues students feel need to be addressed on campus. The results of the survey will allow future GSB leaders to determine what their platform issues will be for their term in office. The surveys have been reviewed by the psychology department and will be available to students within the next two to three weeks.

GSB executives

Daniel Fischer — president

Major: agricultural business

Year: senior

Hometown: Neola, Iowa

Previous GSB position: director of government relations

Maggie Luttrell — vice president

Major: history

Year: senior

Hometown: Jacksonville, Ill.

Previous GSB position:     ex-officio City Council liason

GSB 2008-2009 priorities, put out at the beginning of the fall semester:

Engage and effectively represent the student body in university, local and state issues

Ensure fair and transparent allocations of student funds

Conduct semester surveys to measure students’ top priorities

Establish relationships with greek and residence hall communities

Advocate about the problem of student debt and propose a diverse set of solutions

Lobby for a diverse set of issues, including higher state funding, stable tuition increases, affordable loans and improved career prospects

Develop a yearly, brief report on ISU debt for communication with state and political leaders

Educate and inform students about state and federal elections

Form cooperative partnerships with ISU administrators and student organizations

Seek and create programs to enhance academic and student life experiences

Create joint projects and events with other campus organizations

Recruit, develop and retain the best campus leaders

Recruit motivated students with diverse views, ideas and goals for GSB

Provide proper orientation and clear expectations of the representation process to GSB leaders

— Provided by Daniel Fischer and Maggie Luttrell

GSB executives’ goals for the year:

Fischer:

“Engage and effectively represent the student body in university, local and state issues”

“Recruit, develop and retain the best campus leaders”

Luttrell:

“Form cooperative partnerships with ISU administrators and student organizations”

“Advocate the problem of student debt and a diverse set of solutions”