What is the job of the President of USG?

The constitution of The Undergraduate Student Government partially outlines my duties as, “Being the principal spokesperson for the USG in all dealings with College administration, the Undergraduate Student Body at large, in addition to all bodies outside the College, including the outside community.” 

As the spokesperson, I sit on various committees representing the students of Baruch College. 

I was given the opportunity to be part of the presidential search committee earlier this year and was given insight into the process of selecting the new president. Including me in the process as a representative works to slowly break down the perceived barriers between students and our administration and therefore — promotes transparency. 

As a voting member, I was able to highlight student issues and ask various candidates questions about how they would tackle some of the pressing concerns such as food insecurity and overcrowding I’m also part of the presidential advisory committee on diversity, equity and inclusion. 

While the name basically says it all, the committee itself is meant to help enrich the lives of our students and professors by
making Baruch a safer space for all. 

I’m in the auxiliary enterprise board where I get insight in the process for commencement planning and updates from the CUNY-wide food vendor. 

Finally, I’m part of the Baruch College Board of Directors. They are the final say on club budgets and appeals and deal with budgets from various different departments as well. 

My position allows me to represent the interests of the students in places where it usually doesn’t reach.

As much as administrators work hard to make the student experience better, they cannot particularly relate or are even aware of some issues or concerns. I have students that come up to various senators and USG members with a wide range of issues they want us to bring up to administration. This interaction then allows me to bring these issues up to the right person and work on a cohesive plan to figure out a solution.

What have you done for us students so far this year? 

You may know USG from our various giveaways and events that we do, courtesy of our Vice President of Student Affairs, Tony Chen. It’s our way of connecting with students upfront and
making their days easier and happier. 

However, that’s just one of many facets of being part of the student government. Another more visible facet is our interaction with clubs. 

Our treasurer Tam processes every single piece of paperwork from the clubs. Our Chair of Appeals, Gigi Kaur and Chair of Clubs and Organizations, Denise Rojas work to help clubs with additional funding to help throw even better events. Aaron D’Souza, the chair of finance helps assign budgets for the following year. 

Our USG is very much legislative focused thanks to our Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Kim Kazdal. 

We have worked collectively to increase awareness about voter registration and will continue to do so for Census awareness. 

USG also had a rally on campus to advocate for higher education funding and brought the issue to many senators and representatives as well. 

We went to Albany with a group of students to continue our advocacy to make sure that 17 Lex gets the funding it needs to continue construction. 

We will continue to work with the University Student Senate to make sure that CUNY is properly funded for generations to come. Our Vice President of Academic Affairs, Briana Staten has represented students in the Faculty Senate and plans various events for transfer students as well as informative events such as financial calculator uses. 

She was also integral to the project where USG purchased $20,000 worth of textbooks for the library. 

Our Vice President of Campus Affairs Robert Da Rita is working with the new vice president of facilities to help make sure that things like water fountains are readily available to students. We will also be working with athletics to help spruce up the gym for students. 

Dakshatha Daggala is the president of USG. She can be reached at dakshatha.daggala@usgbaruch.com. Her office is located at 3-272 in the Newman Vertical Campus