Indiana University student body president Zachary Goldberg addressed the Student Congress on Monday night, discussing current administration goals, initiatives and the state of the university.
Goldberg reported that his goals for the year included continuing IU student government community service projects and remaining a “student-facing organization." Specifically, Goldberg identified food security, campus safety and supporting the Indiana Daily Student as three main priorities for his administration.
The president highlighted his first initiative, food security, as an issue due to a lack of late night and religious-diet options for students in IU dining. To combat this, IUSG plans to open a 24/7 grab-and-go station opening up at the O’Neill School to provide small food items, basic medical supplies and school supplies.
“Students come to our campus to be students, and they should be able to do that,” Goldberg said. “They shouldn't be sitting in their dorm rooms at night or in their apartments wondering about where they're going to get their next meal.”
Campus security was another main concern of the administration. Goldberg said he and other student government members completed “safety walks” to identify unsafe, dark areas on campus hoping to provide a safer campus at night . Goldberg also mentioned increasing anti-hazing efforts and making more gender-neutral bathrooms available on campus.
Goldberg also said he wants his administration to be known for its commitment to community service. IUSG has already been involved in events such as an invasive species weed-pulling event and a food drive for local food pantries, organized with the Bloomington Faculty Council. They also worked together to assemble hundreds of art kits for veterans this fall.
“Even in dark moments with governance and things that happen at the university, we can still come together and do something that is meaningful and warms everybody's hearts for a little bit,” Goldberg said.
He also mentioned advocating for the IDS as a major initiative for student congress. In the past few weeks, congress increased its donations to the newspaper by 12.5%. Goldberg was especially concerned about IU’s recent freedom of speech ranking placing it 255th out of 257 universities.
“Students should be able to have their constitutional rights while they're on this campus, and there's no question of that,” Goldberg said. “Because everywhere in the country, someone should be able to have that.”
Anvi Bhagavatula, a representative for off-campus housing, stated she was mostly aligned with the president's goals for this upcoming year especially when it came to increased safety around campus.
“I get notifications all the time that’s there’s assault cases and robberies, and it’s so sad and something that needs to be tackled immediately,” Bhagavatula said.
She also had a few ideas of future goals for IUSG to look into.
“My campaign, when I was running for off campus housing, was largely centered around improving the transit system and how hard it is to operate,” Bhagavatula said.
Goldberg applauded IU’s increase in admissions with the university bringing the largest undergraduate class to date in 2025. He also lauded the success of IU football.
“We just want to help the student body in any way that we can," Vice President Ava Smith said. “Even if it's a little goal, something that might seem really minor to someone, maybe it could put a smile on someone's face today.”
