SIUC is about to usher in a new wave of student politicians.

Undergraduate Student Government voted to ratify the results of last week’s student elections at its meeting Wednesday night, confirming Demetrous White as USG president and Megan Pulliam as student trustee.

White, a senior from Chicago studying psychology, is set to take the top USG position at the final student government meeting of the semester May 2. He will replace current President Akeem Mustapha.

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Mustapha, a pre-med senior from Nigeria, advised White to work closely with students and be civil with administrators.

“You give them some respect as school administrators and they will give you an audience who will listen to what you have to say concerning student issues,” he said.

Mustapha said the constant struggle to involve students in USG was the most challenging task he faced as president.

“One of the ideas we had was to try to fill the senate seats, but as we tried to fill them, some of the other senators would have to step out for some reason,” he said.

White said he plans to attend meetings of registered student organizations and hold “town hall” style meetings to stay up to date with students’ concerns. He said the meetings and his other commitments as president could have an effect on his personal life.

“I may have to quit my job,” said White, who works as a campus custodian five nights a week.

As the head of a constituency group that is often scrutinized, White said he understands he might be the target of criticism.

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“At the end of the day, the buck does stop here,” he said.

Megan Pulliam, a junior from Springfield studying pre-med Spanish, will replace Christine Guerra, a senior from Chicago studying political science and philosophy, as SIUC’s student representative on the SIU Board of Trustees July 1. Pulliam defeated Guerra and Black Affairs Coordinator Kevin Winstead in last week’s election with about 39 percent of the vote.

Although she has held some lower offices in student organizations, Pulliam said she has never held a leadership position similar to that of student trustee. Despite the lack of experience, she said neither the position nor the Board of Trustees intimidates her.

“(The board) will be very welcoming, I’m hoping,” she said.

As student trustee, Pulliam said she hopes to get a better understanding of the system that pays for the university. She said she has closely examined the issue of affordability of education and she is eager to begin working on the issue with the board.

“I’m guessing they’re going to be constantly saying, ‘Well, we want to be cheap, but we didn’t have any choice because we didn’t have any money,'” she said.

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