Kevin Kuo, IUSA chief of policy under last year’s administration, was selected for the role.
IUSA President Anne Tinder said the position was born of discussions with previous president Andrew Braden about the frustrations of seeing policy progress dropped from one administration to the next.
When Kuo applied to work for IUSA again, he said he had no specific position in mind; rather, he just wanted to continue working with IUSA.
“I think — just naturally, because he’s the person who knows the most about what they had been doing — he fell naturally into this new position,” Tinder said.
Each administration has a one-year term, which Tinder said she felt is “no time at all” to change University policy. Big changes may take place throughout multiple administrations, she said.
“I think placing a burden on any single administration to accomplish some huge new policy thing in one single year is difficult,” Tinder said. “I’d like to see subsequent administrations keep this position and keep working on the most promising parts of previous administrations’ efforts or platforms.”
In past years, many incumbent members of the executive board were reelected. This year, however, several executives are newly elected, which Kuo said is another reason for the creation of the position: It ensures there is someone to smooth the transition.
One way Tinder said she planned to utilize Kuo is with work on Counseling and Psychological Services, as Kuo was part of the administration that created the CAPS-Now program last year, which guarantees students an appointment with a counselor within 48 hours. Continuing to improve CAPS was a part of this administration’s campaign platform.
“Kevin, having those connections there (with CAPS) and knowledge of how that institution works, is very valuable to us as we move forward,” Tinder said.
Kuo said he hoped the knowledge he brings from the last administration’s surveys, discussions and research on their five initiatives — bystander intervention, campus safety, improving CAPS, recycling and voter registration — will help this administration be more efficient.
“The problems students face don’t change year to year,” Kuo said. “A lot of them stay the same, and, although we did make progress last year, it’s important that we continue making progress ... in order to reach the finish line, we need to keep on doing it”.
The next administration will decide whether or not to keep the role.
“I hope they keep it,” Tinder said. “I wouldn’t want to see the work the previous administration did with CAPS or did with other things to just drop because I’m here now. In the same way, I don’t want to see any work that we do go by the wayside in a year because new people are elected.”
