Harlan Bailey, sophomore in agricultural business, was recently appointed SGA’s executive vice president of outreach, a new position created by executive officers to ensure Auburn students’ voices are heard.
Brandon Honeywell, SGA vice president, said the creation of this position was a joint decision made by himself; Jesse Westerhouse, SGA president; and James Beauchaine, SGA treasurer.
The new position is designed to help communicate effectively with the student body, Honeywell said.
“We want to systematically make sure that student government is getting a wide range of feedback from all student groups and at the same time make sure that we are doing a good job of keeping students updated on how we are working for them,” Honeywell said. “This communication gap has long been a struggle of ours in the past, and this year, we intend to end the misperception that student government does not work on the behalf of all students.”
Honeywell said he is excited to see what happens with Bailey's position.
“As EVP [executive vice president] of outreach, Harlan will be leading the front on a project that will not only send liaisons to organizations and student groups for more effective communication, but will also be placing an emphasis on forming close relationships with individual students of all backgrounds,” Honeywell said.
Bailey, who served as SGA director of research and assessment two years ago, said he was initially contacted by Westerhouse to interview for the position.
“After Jesse explained the position to me, I thought it would be an amazing opportunity for me to help SGA and also Auburn as a whole in a major way,” Bailey said. “I went through the interview process, and after a few days of patiently and anxiously waiting, I was selected as the executive vice president of outreach.”
Bailey said his vision for this new position is to make every Auburn student feel like they’re a part of SGA.
“Some of the ways I expect to accomplish this vision is through town hall meetings, a weekly newsletter and campus relations liaisons,” Bailey said. “Those will be huge parts of the push for letting the student voice be heard and letting the students know what SGA is doing for them.”
Bailey said he is also excited to gather his team of assistant vice presidents and directors and working with them.
“I feel as though the best part in that for me, especially with it being a new position, will be hearing the new ideas of what else we could do for the Auburn students,” Bailey said. “I have a plan of what the rest of exec and I want to see us do, but we are not perfect by any means and know that there are other ideas that we may not have thought of that could benefit all students on Auburn's campus.”
Bailey said he would describe himself as a huge people person and can’t wait to use this position as a way to build new relationships.
“I know that I will be talking to many different students with different backgrounds, races and opinions. I want them all to understand that I am hear to listen and make sure that SGA can strive to help them in any aspect of their Auburn experience,” Bailey said. “I recognized early in my college career that Auburn is a place that I love and call home and I want to make sure that every student can feel that same way."
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