Sara Zaheer had been invested in her community since elementary school. As a senior in high school, Zaheer heard about IU Student Association elections, which prompted her to enroll in the IUSA Freshman Internship Program the following year. This year, as a senior in college, Zaheer took office as president of the IUSA after serving as the chief of staff for last year’s president.
This year, Zaheer plans to make IUSA more student-friendly and more connected to parts of the student body that had been less involved in previous years.
“I really like the behind-the-scenes, steer-ship thing,” Zaheer said.
As president, Zaheer oversees each executive department of IUSA and serves as a representative for the student body.
She plans to make IUSA more accessible to the student body and to teach students how student government can work in their favor. She also plans to oversee a monthly newsletter, sent to the student body, detailing the previous month’s changes in policy and administration as well as IUSA plans around campus.
“I like being a connector for people,” Zaheer said. “Being helpful makes me happy. I tend to surround myself with people who are smarter than me because that’s the only way I’m going to get better.”
Zaheer works in tandem with the University administration to affect policy on behalf of the student body.
She said she hopes specifically to help revise campus policy on medical amnesty, or the Lifeline Law, which in its current form dissuades students from calling for medical help in the event of an alcohol-related emergency for fear of being punished by the University. The Lifeline Law protects citizens in substance abuse situations when calling for medical help for others without legal repercussions.
Melissa Kish, associate director for Leadership & Inclusion and Fraternity & Sorority Life at Student Life and Learning, worked with Zaheer for the past two years. She said Zaheer listens and approaches groups she’s not a part of to see what they need from the University.
“She is truly student-focused,” Kish said. “She’ll get more voices heard and get more people involved with the administration.”
After graduation, Zaheer said she hopes to fade out of the public eye and ease some of the responsibility of being the general representative for the student body. Still, she said she felt that years of student government has left her with the level of grit and the comfort with public speaking necessary to function as an effective IUSA president.
“I’m really excited for this year,” Kish said. “Every student at IU should be very excited and grateful that Sara is their voice. She’s going to do such a good job and sometimes you see someone who doesn’t understand they’re representing all the students, and she gets that.”
