Final directors chosen Friday for Union Board

After interviews with leaders across campus, the final eight Union Board directors were chosen Friday evening.

Nathaniel Fischer, Jared Thomas, Carlisha Carr, Grace Miller, Aamena Ansari, Brandon Walsh, Jackie Gauthier and Anu Kumar,  an Inside Magazine editorial assistant and Indiana Daily Student employee,  were selected to the 104th Union Board for the 2013 calendar year.

They join their eight counterparts who were elected by the student body on Nov. 13, for a total of 16 directors.

Carr said finding out she was elected to the board was exciting news.
“I was relieved, because the whole campaigning process was hard in the first place,” Carr said.  “A lot of people on campus don’t know about Union Board.”

Carr said she hopes that through her role as a director she can increase student involvement with the board.

“I want to continue the excellence that Union Board puts forth,” she said. “It’s for the students.”

The interview process was conducted by Union Board President AJ O’Reilly, Union Board Director of Films Graham Davis and Kendra Allenspach, president of the IU Panhellenic Association.

“They asked us what we thought about the Indiana Memorial Union as a symbol of IU,” said director-elect Kumar. “Beyond that, they asked what we thought Union Board could bring to the student body.”

The new board will continue orientation for the rest of the semester and after winter break.

“Next week, they will start getting familiar with the other board members,” O’Reilly said.  “They will be orientated around the Union Board office.”

The new board members will have internal elections for executive positions Saturday.
They will also discuss which committees they would like to create for next year.

The current board is in the process of ratifying a constitutional amendment to change the number of executive positions from three to four, O’Reilly said. The changes must be accepted by a student body vote before they can be implemented.

Committees will be selected after break, on Jan. 8, 2013.

“The leadership skills are pretty transferable between directors,” Kumar said. “It will really come down to weighing the skill sets of the directors and finding out who fits best in each position.”

The new board will be initiated at 6 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Tudor Room of the IMU.
Kumar believes the transition will go well with the aid of the current board.

She added it will be helpful that many of the new directors have experience with Union Board in some capacity.

“It is a strange feeling to pass over the reins, but I’m excited for this board,” O’Reilly said. “I think this new board is a good group. I think next year, I know one thing that will be accomplished will be looking more at what Union Board means to the campus and how it can shape where this campus is going.”