Following the announcement of the SGA election results last week, The Pendulum spoke with Darien Flowers, executive president-elect about his win and visions for Elon University.
Flowers, and the other newly-elected representatives, will officially take over April 1, after being sworn in March 29.
Darien Flowers. Photo by Sarah Hudak.
Q: How are you feeling right now?
A: I am relieved. It has been an eventful 72 hours, but I’m relieved and excited to get down to business.
Q: What is your next course of action?
A: First of all, we have to make sure that we have a seamless transition. There are plenty of idiosyncrasies that I am not aware of and will have to learn by being in the office. I can’t wait to start working with Sam Warren, current executive president and understanding what (courses of action) have been successful for him in the past and what has been successful for other previous executive presidents.
Q: What goals do you plan to first pursue after assuming the position?
A: First and foremost, I would like to talk with University Communications about overhauling the SGA website. That is the medium through which the Senate itself can communicate to students. It is in dire need of an upgrade and I would like to overhaul that. The next thing is getting feedback from the students. I’ve heard several things from other SGA candidates that I think we need to talk about.
Q: What have you heard?
A: For example, the schedule of the Bio Bus. Is it serving the needs of the students in the most effective way? Other things include looking at all the dietary options on campus. We need to start having conversations with Aramark to make sure that the options they are providing students are the options that students want, as well as healthy options. We need to take a nutritional sampling of what is offered on campus. We would also like to get an eating option in the Academic Village. We need to see what Aramark would envision that to be and what students would like to see, and find a viable compromise between the two parties.
Jana Lynn Patterson (left), assistant vice president for Student Life, congratulates new Executive President Darien Flowers. Photo by Al Drago, staff photographer.
A: I had a student email me during the campaign to tell me she would like easier access to printing options in all academic buildings, especially on the first floors. (We would also like to expand) the availability of tissues in all classrooms. That is something that we are going to look at through Auxiliary Services and Campus Technology.
Q: What does your transition period entail?
A: Well, obviously Sam is going to finish out his term, which ends April 1st, I think. I will be assisting him, and he and I are going to talk regularly about the things that he has been working on that should be continued and what those things will entail for my administration. Sam creates a transition binder of whatever he thinks is appropriate, and he and I will work through that so I can see exactly what the executive presidency looks like. There will be regular discussion between the two of us.