Joint Board voting next week on new Social Services Coordinator

by Colin Reynolds

At the joint board meeting on Nov. 16, SGA president Mark Henry, ‘05, announced the selection of Drew Blackman ‘05 as the new Student Services Coordinator (SSC). Henry and SGA VP Rebecca Miller ’05 selected Blackman, and next week Joint Board will vote on whether to approve the selection.

Henry said he was not at liberty to disclose the number of applicants for the position, but he suggested that the number had been lower than expected.

The position had been vacated when the previous SSC, Rebecca Miller ‘05 was elected SGA vice president after the resignation of Andy Grimm (formerly ‘05). Miller has been serving as both SSC and vice president until the approval of a new SSC.

This semester, Blackman was elected to Joint Board as a Senator for Loosehead, and his position will be filled by a special election if he is approved as SSC.

“The job basically has two parts,” said Miller. “The first is to communicate with student groups about questions they might have, supplies they need and to register new student groups. The second is to organize and oversee several events on campus each semester.” Among these events, Miller mentioned the blood drive and the SGA book and poster sales. As a Cabinet member, the SSC also participates in the SGA decision-making process.

As the new SSC, Blackman said that he would like to increase the importance of his position as student group liaison and to make the student services committee a more visible body on campus. “I’ve been in a number of student groups, and through my activism I have come to appreciate coalition-building among groups with common interests,” he said. “Of course, these are very broad goals, and as I get into the rhythm of the job and start to understand the nuances of the position I will probably be able to set some more concrete goals.”