Having spent almost a month in office, Student Council will work through the summer to map out initiatives for the upcoming year to hit the ground running this fall.
Council's major goals will be outreach and transparency, President Colin Hood said. In terms of outreach, Council will make a specific effort to target incoming first-year students when they arrive on Grounds.
"We're going to be communicating with first-years so they understand what Student Council is and we're getting ready to go with the Meet Your Council event in the fall," Hood said.
Vice President for Administration Jen Bristol, meanwhile, has pushed several pieces of legislation through Council's representative body to create new leadership positions and membership guidelines.
"My specific goals are definitely the committee member guidelines and making sure that we do have involvement and accountability on all sides." Bristol said.
In particular, it is important to make sure Council members feel involved and connected to the organization, she said.
"We do have a membership chair and we are looking forward to Student Council solidarity and bonding," Bristol said. "We hope that more member involvement will equal more production in the future."
Bristol also said she hopes to encourage representatives to hold office hours and be more engaged during Council's weekly meetings. In addition, she wants to encourage them to build connections between Council and the other organizations and schools of which they are a part.
"Everyone should know ... what Student Council is, how Student Council is functioning, how their group can help Student Council and how Student Council can help them," Bristol said.
Vice President for Organizations Evan Shields, meanwhile, said he plans to overhaul the appropriations process.
"With appropriations, we're going to take a deep look at the formula and also the manner in which students apply for it on @UVA, and [we're] really trying to simplify the system, make the formula a little bit more efficient in allocations and really find different ways to simplifying the online way in which you apply," Shields said.
Furthermore, Shields hopes to change the format of the semiannual treasurers meetings so that Council can appropriately tailor the meetings to specific groups such as club sports, entertainment groups and those under the umbrella of the Minority Rights Advocacy Coalition. This way, Council can better inform CIO leaders about the available resources on Grounds, including the CIO consultant program, and how to use technology like @UVA.
"We want to make the process a little more intimate and conversational," Shields said. "It's not just going to be about appropriations anymore."
Similarly, Shield said Council hopes to integrate new media into the appropriations process, Shields said.
"We're doing educational videos that we hope will be engaging and will really educate and connect CIO leaders to the actual appropriations process and the reimbursement process, as well with business services, because I think that's of equal importance to actually submitting a budget and going into hearings," Shields said.
Council's use of new media is, in fact, part of its new approach to outreach and transparency, Hood said.
"We're headed in a new direction," Hood said. "We're more college-student-friendly in the way we deliver messages."
Council members have been encouraged to create Twitter accounts that are synced to the Student Council website and they are regularly updating the Student Council Facebook fan page.
Additionally, StudCoLIVE, which enables students to visit Council's website to watch meetings as they happen, was launched three weeks ago. Hood said Council is planning to implement a big publicity push for the service this fall.
Some students also could find the service useful for purposes other than increasing Council's transparency.
"It's also great for events like this Friday's student memorial service," Hood said in regards to the event being held today in honor of the six University students who passed away during the academic year. "It's going to be convenient for students and family members who can't make the event."
Council will hold its last meeting of the semester Tuesday and will reconvene in September.
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