Junior Nandan Nair was elected executive president of Emerson’s Student Government Association (SGA) last spring. He will oversee the governing student body as it allocates funds to recognized organizations on campus and as SGA works with Emerson administration to improve student life this academic year.
Running on a platform of fighting for every Emerson student’s voice to be heard when important decisions are made, Nair sat down with The Beacon to discuss SGA’s return to campus, hopes for the academic year, and to highlight new changes regarding how SGA will function.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Beacon: Coming into the new school year, following what was a markedly rough end to the spring semester, what are some of SGA’s top priorities?
Nair: Accountability, equity, and action. That was the platform I ran on. Additionally, we want to change how the Emerson community views SGA. We want to build community spirit so that Emerson students feel more connected to each other. We had a really rough spring semester, and we need to bounce back from that and part of that is trying to put [SGA] out there on campus more. Additionally, we want to do outreach work with academic administration, especially after a semester in which there was not a lot of communication and a lot of times that we felt that we were in the dark.
Beacon: To accomplish these goals, was SGA in contact over summer? What progress was made or accomplished?
Nair: SGA was communicating over the summer. The one half was within SGA internally and the other half was external, such as reaching out to students.
Our big goal over the summer was to develop one clear vision or idea of how SGA moves forward. Structurally, one of our big goals is setting SGA up so that it’s position-based and not people-based. During the summer, we planned out what positions were missing and [SGA] put out an application form for returning students to try and confirm our academic senators. We filled up all but four positions, and we’re really happy with the people we’ve brought in.
Externally, SGA communicated with [the] administration, a big thing that we talked about was making sure that [administration] updated us about what the new policies are, and [SGA] did come together and talk about the changes that are coming forward, including EmersonTogether and how SGA can move forward.
We need more communication from the administration. A lack of it leaves space for assumption and miscommunication, and we want to make sure that there’s transparency and communication so that student voices do have a seat at the table. Those conversations have all been very positive, we are trying to come back together in good faith, and I’m very hopeful for what the year can bring.
Beacon: What are some goals that both you and SGA hope to achieve over the course of this year?
Nair: One of our really big goals this year is to start using the Student Impact Fund. Last year as treasurer [of SGA], I tried to implement legislation to get the ball rolling on that and our big goal is to publicize the impact fund. One of our big things this year is access, how we can help people access certain things, especially after the budget cuts we had to make last year. If we can put [this money] back into the community, it would show what SGA can do.
Structurally, we want to make [internal] structures more concrete. In the past, [SGA’s] senators have felt lost or confused on who to go to for initiatives, so one of our big goals this year is a project proposal template. Senators put information into the template and using that information, [SGA] can then meet with them and ultimately, be more connected with our senators. From there, senators and SGA can set concrete goals and action items so that [the project] gets done and the community can see. A lot of the work that gets done is through our senators and we want to go back to helping people get stuff done, by empowering our senators from the ground up.
Additionally, we’re beginning a transparency documentation initiative, where past SGA members can come back and we can discuss what’s going on and they can give advice to current members. After someone completes a project, they can reflect on what road blocks they faced, what was helpful, what they gained out of it, and we can keep track year by year so that instead of having to break the floor every year and build up, we can see what SGA has done in the past, what progress we still need to do, and every time new leadership comes in they can see what was there before them and build on it.
Another big goal, specifically with new leadership coming in this year, is to make sure that ultimately, there’s no information that’s being withheld. As SGA, we may know things about how administration works that the everyday Emerson student may not. Students deserve to be heard on where Emerson should be, especially with EmersonTogether. We will be working closely with the college on this initiative, making sure that student voices are heard and brought to the decision making table, so it’s not just a community that works for students, its a community that students make up.
Beacon: You recently sent an email to student leaders in Emerson’s organizations promoting office hours for students to drop by to your office and meet with you and Executive Vice President Kayla Armbruster. Is this just one example of SGA’s new initiatives and what motivated you to offer these new office hours?
Nair: We have this feeling that we don’t have a lot of student interaction with our orgs right now, and we don’t want to be just the org that funds other orgs. [SGA] didn’t know too much about the orgs, and that’s not nearly enough. We’re all students, we’re all people, and [SGA] wants to build those interpersonal connections; just because we’re the governing org doesn’t mean that we can’t communicate with other orgs.
We split [all Emerson orgs] up into different days and we’re doing office hours, so if [the student leaders] are available, we would love to talk to you about what your org does, what your goals are, and how SGA can help you. And helping doesn’t just mean funding, it could be going to theater shows, helping out with cleanups. We’re not just helping financially, but physically and mentally, too. For a long time now, SGA has been in the background, [Emerson students] may know SGA but they don’t know what each role does, which is why publicizing who we are and being more accessible to the students, to build more interpersonal connections is a starting point. From there, we’re going to be taking notes and when finished we’ll circle back, review information, find recurring themes and concerns, all to make ourselves more known on campus.
Ultimately, [SGA’s] goal is for students to know if they have a concern or problem, SGA is there for [them]. If there’s something that you want to see changed, SGA can help with that. In terms of how we’re structured, [SGA’s] goal is building our senators and bringing back general members. What we found is that being a general member [of SGA] is a great way for freshmen to get involved, it also gives [them] the experience of being in SGA and seeing how things work, giving [them] experience to run for a bigger position in the future.
Beacon: Is there any message that you want the incoming class of 2028 to hear as they begin their journey at Emerson? Any advice to freshmen who might be interested in joining SGA?
Nair: We are actively trying to recruit freshmen to build the future of SGA. We’re looking for general members right now, and we do have a freshman class council who create events for their class and build community within themselves. We also have deputy senator roles that we try to open up to freshmen, where [they] can serve in their department as deputy to the main senator, which involves helping the main senator in accomplishing whatever goals or projects that they have. As deputy senators, [freshmen] are still involved, and see what [SGA] takes, but don’t have the time commitment of more senior roles. Our interest form is live now and is on our instagram @emerson_sga.
My advice to the freshman class is that freshman year is a very interesting year, you’re away from home for the first time, seeing new things, and new people, especially in the first month. Things will get better, most of us can speak to that, you’re going to experience new things and new emotions.
Also, you’re not getting left behind, you’re right where you need to be, and don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone’s path is different, you’re competing with yourself, not with other people. Ask, “Am I doing better than I was a day ago, a month ago, a year ago?” Try everything, step out of your comfort zone, freshman year really is the year that you get to experiment with different orgs. It’s more valuable to join something and realize that you don’t like it and leave as opposed to never trying it at all.
The person that you are in college is very different from high school, and one quote from Gordon Ramsey that I like is, “Never fear a storm, learn to dance in the rain.” Don’t be afraid to fail. Now is the time to fail. Maybe you decide to join something freshman year and it changes your life.
Finally, we’re here for you, I’m here for you, that’s a personal pledge that I can make: if no one else will listen to you, I will listen to you and SGA will listen to you. It matters what you say and if you are an Emerson student, [SGA] is here to advocate and fight for you to get the best experience that you can. My contacts are always open, the SGA email is always open for concerns. Make the most of these four years, it honestly, truly, flies by. Embrace the moments before they become memories and embrace all those experiences that are unique to freshman year. Before you know it, you’ll be asking, “Where did the time go?”
Beacon: Do you have any other comments or statements that you would like to share with the readers of The Beacon?
Nair: We have a lot of hope for what SGA can become and how we can drive Emerson forward. We’re in a very unique position right now, and that gives us the opportunity to do some amazing things. We need the student body to make that happen, so if you have ideas for how Emerson can move forward with more unity, or ideas on how to make Emerson better, join [SGA], even as a general member. I truly am trying to be a president for all Emerson students. Whether you are in SGA or not, whether you like SGA or not, I am here for you and I want to hear from you. Ultimately, I’m really hopeful that we can all change Emerson for the better.
