By: Jessica Griggs ~Staff Writer~
On the evening of April 12, the new student government met in the Conaton Board Room as Andrew Redd, Fare Olagbaju and Josh DeVincenzo (AFJ) were officially sworn in as student government president, legislative vice president and administrative vice president, respectively.The members of AFJ each received gavels after they recited their oaths and then delivered short speeches of thanks and motivation for their coming term, which runs from April 12 to Dec. 31.
Their speeches presented a common theme that will fuel the agenda for the new student government’s term: community. “Our biggest goal is to make Xavier University the forefront of promoting individual growth and community-building centered on the concept of inclusion,” newly-elected President Andrew Redd said about what AFJ aims to achieve during their term as executives.
DeVincenzo detailed his “lowest week at Xavier” in his speech during which he was uplifted by the smiles and sympathies of friends and acquaintances on campus after the loss of one of his childhood friends. Olagbaju echoed similar sentiments after acknowledging the emergence of his native Nigerian accent that was caused by nerves and drawing chuckles from the audience. He expressed his desire to be both a great and effective vice president to the student body and teammate to the other two members of AFJ.
Finally, Redd was sworn in and delivered a speech thanking the previous leaders of the Student Government Association (SGA) for being exceptional role models and for helping the incoming leaders adjust to their new positions.
He proceeded to elaborate on the previous speeches, articulating the community aspect of Xavier and the need to continue to construct an all-inclusive atmosphere. AFJ also promised to increase involvement with university offices like the Dorothy Day Center for Faith and Justice and the Mulitcultural, Gender, and Women’s Center. “That’s what we ran on,” Redd said. “That’s the legacy we want to build.”
The trio will serve a shortened term as the SGA election cycle transitions to being based on the calendar (rather than the academic) year.