Post Classifieds
Students elect Sauerzopf new USG president
By Katie Anderson
On April 10, 2013
The United Students Government will have a new face taking over the presidential office in
June.
Eric Sauerzopf, a junior from Downingtown, Pa., was elected the next USG president over
Gabriel Johnson and Ashleigh-Ann Sutherland by more than 140 votes.
Sauerzopf said he chose Buffalo State because of his love for the Bills and Sabres. As a
business marketing education major, he was also drawn to the school's education program.
Although he has never been involved with USG before, Sauerzopf said he will do well as
president by advocating for students and bringing fresh ideas to the table.
"My dad always told me that if you don't like something, do something about it," Sauerzopf said,
"So I decided to run for president to try to fix the problems."
Sauerzopf said that running for president was a last-minute decision. He was in the game room
with friends on the last day USG was accepting applications for the presidential race when he
decided to run.
"One of the reasons I ran is because the same 35 to 40 people who were running were all
senators, and I think we need some new, fresh faces in there and new ideas," he said. "When
you work with the same people you get comfortable and I feel like necessary changes weren't
being made because everyone felt comfortable and were just coasting."
One of the changes that Sauerzopf would like to see happen during his term is to improve the
representation of commuting students by reaching out to them through USG and getting them
more involved. He said social media is huge when reaching out to commuters as well as using
more signage in parking lots.
"Seventy-five percent of students are commuters," he said. "They're not properly represented,
they're not involved with USG. People who go to the programs are pretty much all residents and
I think we need to find a way to get commuters involved too."
Sauerzopf also said he would like to see more polls and surveys done, so students can be
better represented.
"The No. 1 thing is that we all have the same interest and that's to help the student body,"
Sauerzopf said. "We have to work together to achieve that goal."
Although he lived on campus his first two years, Sauerzopf now commutes from his Elmwood
apartment. He said that his three years at Buffalo State, both as a resident and a commuter,
gave him the upper hand in the election.
"Being here for three years, I have many groups of friends from athletes to video gamers," he
said. "I think that was the advantage because both candidates had been here for less than a
year, but I'm going on my fourth."
Incumbent Christina Germann was re-elected as USG's executive vice president. She topped
Adonis Timothy William Kernen by 183 votes.
"I'm very thankful I can finish what I started and just continue to grow in the position that I'm in,"
she said. "I wasn't sure how the vote would turn out because the president was split three ways.
Adonis was an amazing senator and I was against him, so I wasn't sure how that was going to
turn out."
Germann said she was most excited for the voter turnout as more than 1,300 students cast a
ballot over four days. Last year, with the elections conducted on Bengal Connect, only 200 to
300 voters participated, she said.
Germann said that the New York Public Interest Research Group played a huge role in pushing
students to vote. NYPIRG was up for a referendum, which did pass along with the mandatory
student activity fee. The NYPIRG referendum passed 886-231 while students voted 883-245 in
favor of keeping the student activity fee mandatory.
Germann said that moving forward she hopes everyone will be able to work together and
maintain positive communication for the benefit and representation of the entire student body.
"I really want the organizations to know that we're here for them and we're not trying to go
against them," she said. "I'm hoping to just continue trying to close the gap between us and the
organizations."
Justine Britten was also re-elected treasurer of USG by 165 votes over Ashley Louimarre and
Alieu Baldeh, giving her a second year in office.
Katie Anderson can be reached by email at Anderson.record@live.com or on twitter
@katetheskate91.
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