One of the main goals for Undergraduate Student Government this year was to improve “customer service.”

USG Vice President Paul Ogwal would say the group has more than accomplished that task.

“We always keep an open door,” Ogwal said. “We don’t want to keep anything a secret.”

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Ogwal said one large difference from last year is the relaxed mood of the USG office. It is more welcoming and social than last year, said Ogwal, who leads USG alongside its president, Akeem Mustapha.

“I used to come in here and felt it was really uptight,” the former senator Ogwal said.

Senators have brought a variety of concerns from their constituencies and are working together, he said.

Arguing and delays were common in USG meetings last year, and senators were frequently warned to return to their seats. Often, they would leave the meeting room and talk separately in small groups.

Meetings this semester have progressed smoothly, with senators sitting in organized rows most of the time.

USG has also been more interactive on campus and more open to discuss issues with administrators, said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Larry Dietz.

“I’ve had some fairly frequent meetings with a number of USG senators who have come to my office sometimes wanting advice, sometimes wanting to know about issues that we’re wrestling with.” Dietz said.

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While he has yet to attend a USG meeting this year, former USG President Nate Brown said the main difference he has noticed is the dialogue the students have with administrators.

Brown is now an undergraduate assistant in the chancellor’s office. During the summer, Brown drafted a model for a new form of student government that would eliminate USG and the Graduate and Professional Student Council while giving college administrators the responsibility of appointing student leaders.

The model, which Brown composed on the charge of Chancellor Walter Wendler, evolved into a student government task force that is currently looking at ways to make student government bodies at SIUC more efficient.

The model and the task force came after USG failed multiple times in the spring semester to allocate money to student groups for events. In one meeting designated for allocations, senators censured then-president Brown and urged Wendler to look for a job elsewhere before time restraints forced money distribution to another day.

Even though USG has been on the right track, improvements and changes can still be made to make student government better, Ogwal said.

Ogwal mentioned that senators Matt Picchietti and Joe Yancey recently started a group called “Fight Club,” in which senators talk with students about campus issues such as the delays on the new Wall and Grand Apartments.

Interaction has been the main focus of improvement, USG chief of staff Jimmy Toriola said.

“There has been cohesion between the senators and the executives,” Toriola said. “Senators now find it easier to come to USG.”

Student Development director and USG adviser Katie Sermersheim said the group is committed to making its voice and the student body’s voice heard on campus.

“They are definitely off on the right foot,” Sermersheim said.

Wayne Utterback can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 268 or [email protected].