Former Vice President of the Students’ Association and senior Tyler Socash will take over the post of SA president after the resignation of senior Eric Sansky earlier this semester.
Socash, who served as a member of Class Council prior to running with Sansky on the executive ticket, outlined that he will primarily be focusing his energy on increasing communication between the UR community and the student government.
‘If people have problems that need to be mitigated anything from as little as a chipped sidewalk to a poor meal plan I just want people to know that, even with Eric gone, there are people in place who are really passionate about taking care of these things, and we are very well-qualified to do it,” Socash said.
A Resident Adviser and varsity athlete at UR, Socash focused his efforts as vice president last semester on increasing visibility of the SA. Socash is no stranger to this effort. For nearly three years, he served as the publicity chair for Class Council. Socash translated that experience into a new initiative aimed to foster school spirit.
‘My main goal was to help get the Students’ Association name out to the student body,” he said. ‘The best way I thought to do that was to sponsor the school spirit programs Pack the Palestra and Fill Fauver.”
These two programs featured prizes and raffle opportunities for UR students at select sporting events throughout the fall. Socash hopes to continue these programs this semester, as well as work with Chairperson of the Communications and Public Relations Committee and freshman Harry Brookstein in order to increase visibility of the SA on campus.
‘Maybe with me being a new face, it brings a little new life and a little new enthusiasm within the student body and the student government,” Socash said. ‘Hopefully, more people feel comfortable coming to me about problems.”
Currently, the SA is not seeking a candidate to fill the vacated vice president position. However, the new SA president mentioned the possibility of adding executive aids to his staff sometime in the near future, while at the same time emphasizing he is not too concerned about finding a replacement due to the strong showing of support he has received from the student government as a whole.
‘Tyler is a very energetic person,” Deputy Speaker of the Senate and senior Alvin Lomibao said. ‘He’s really outgoing. If he has any big projects, he’ll be good at rounding up the troops.”
Socash first received word from Sansky of his decision not to return to UR the Tuesday before the semester began. According to Socash, Sansky did not give a reason for why he wasn’t returning and only said he would not be taking classes at UR this semester. Senate leaders and the Socash will be working to transition power in the coming week.
‘It’s a wrinkle we will have to iron out over the next few days, and hopefully it will not be a hindrance of our ability to advocate for students,” Lomibao said.
In the coming week, the SA will be focusing its effort on one of the University’s four big weekends Winterfest, an event Socash was very enthusiastic about.
‘I’m very excited, and I hope the rest of the student body gets excited because that’s one of our four main weekends,” he said. ‘Hopefully, we can get back in the swing of things with this big community weekend coming up.”
Following Winterfest, the SA will turn its attention back to increasing visibility in other ways. Despite the short notice, Socash remains positive about the impact that his administration is capable of having on the student body.
‘I’m sure I can be very constructive in these next three months and get a lot done and make UR a better place,” he said. ‘The only reason I know I can do that is because I have great senators who are supporting me.”
‘It was a shock, but I will say I am ready to take on this opportunity,” Socash continued. ‘I’m ready to step into this new role, and I’m ready for the transition process.”
