IU SAA currently adding, delegating director positions

With more than 2,000 paying members, IU Student Alumni Association is the largest student organization on campus.

SAA is currently making changes to the way it is run. Until this month, its directors were appointed in August, based off an academic year calendar. Now, student directors will be appointed in January.

“It made sense for us to go to a calendar year,” said Kim Watson, the senior vice president of external. “We can really take the time to make our events better.”    

Homecoming usually takes place in October, so now SAA will have about nine months to plan main events, such as the Nearly Naked Mile. In 2011, more than 2,500 people attended the event, which raised more than $700 for United Way, along with collecting
donated clothing.

SAA is looking to fill various leadership positions after having elected key officials. Any freshman, sophomore or junior can apply for director positions, whether or not they have previously been involved with SAA. By becoming a director, the student will automatically become a member. The association hopes to attract students of various backgrounds, SAA adviser Emili Sperling said.

“We feel that everybody is a student and everyone will become an alum,” Sperling said. “We want our students to be representative of the student body.”

SAA’s parent organization is the IU Alumni Association. IUAA position appointments started to switch to a calendar year, as well, which is another reason why SAA switched when it appointed its directors.

For interested students, applications are on the SAA website and are due tonight at 5 p.m. Current SAA President Brett Rasche said students who apply need to have a go-getter attitude and need to be willing to work hard right away.

“We need students who can help coordinate these traditions we have,”
Sperling said.

SAA added a new position, director of the budget, this year. This student will be responsible for ordering supplies and reimbursements and for working with the IUAA business office.

“It’s important to have someone who knows what they are doing,” Sperling said.
Because new directors start in January, they will have more time to contact local businesses and make sure everything runs smoothly, Rasche said.

“We’ll just have several extra months and can grow these events from what they have been in the past,” Rasche said.

SAA puts on large-scale events during the year, such as Homecoming and Senior Salute, and said it hopes to help active students stay involved in the IU community
after graduation.

“We work on engaging students and connecting them with alums,” Watson said.

Watson became involved with SAA during her freshman year.

“I really enjoyed the things it offered, and I felt like I was making a difference at IU,” Watson said.