When outgoing FUSA President Jeff Seiser ’10 defeated classmate Spencer Thibodeau ’10 in the 2008 election, he had big shoes to fill: those of Hutch Williams ’08.
Williams was one of the more charismatic and well-known students on campus in many years and still maintains a presence on the Fairfield campus. While Seiser may not be as loud or well-known as
Williams was, the void he is leaving behind will loom just as large for the new president.
Seiser wanted to change the way that FUSA was organized and improve it overall. In his two years at the helm of the school’s government organization, Seiser has done that. While there is still room to improve, Seiser succeeded in tackling the issues he saw as important, mostly providing the students on campus a voice in the administration. Whether or not the administration always listened to that advice is up for debate, but Seiser certainly made strides when it came to putting student voices into the University’s decision-making process.
“If we organize ourselves effectively within FUSA, student opinion can be the number one concern here on campus and if elected president I will ensure it does,” said Seiser to The Mirror while running for election. He added that a well-oiled FUSA machine could be “powerful.”
Seiser made the right moves to obtain that goal, but FUSA still has room for improvement and that will rest on the shoulders of the incoming president. Seiser put the right people into positions to create better organization, like classmates Erin Mackey, Christine Ruane and others who have helped not only unite FUSA, but also get its message out to the students.
One area where Seiser’s administration fell short was using the organization to the student’s advantage, though it was not for a lack of trying. Students are still upset over transportation issues, housing lotteries and beach issues, problems that Seiser promised he would fix when he ran for election. With all the focus on reorganizing FUSA, little time was left for the “powerful” organization to be used properly. But Seiser has left the door open for the next president to make a difference for students.
When Seiser was elected, he said that he wanted to “show the administration that we are adults.”
With his professional demeanor and the strong organization under him, Seiser was able to do just that. He legitimized FUSA and gave it a chance to try and make a difference with the administration.
An added benefit that Seiser did not have when he inherited the presidency is a vice president who can help keep the ship on course. Lauren Johnson ’11 has worked alongside Seiser this past year and should be able to help the new president continue to move FUSA forward.
The new president can take FUSA further, truly make its voice heard by the University’s administration. Seiser did his best for two years and reached many of his goals.
In the end, as The Mirror’s headline read when he won the election, Seiser did matter.
But now it is up to — to take FUSA further.
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