By Summer Tyler
Rachael Girsang, PSGA Vice President. (Photo by Alex Del Cueto)
Rachael Girsang is a senior communications major with an arts management minor. As the student Vice President (VP) at Purchase, she strives to consider the student body in decision-making and loves to be in a position where she can be involved in making sure students have the opportunity to take charge of their passions and do what they love.
The role of the Purchase Student Government Association (PSGA) VP requires an individual who is willing to dedicate time and energy to ensure the well-being and needs of the student body are met with care.
Girsang, originally from Queens, New York, is finishing up her second and final year as the PSGA VP.
What made you want to study at Purchase?
I wanted to surround myself with artists. I love being around creative people. I don't live too far from Purchase and so I think it's good to be close to home but also not.
I went to a performing arts high school. I've done chorus and band for most of my life. I'm in the Jazz Choir, and I was in Soul Voices for a couple of semesters. A lot of my friends are musicians, so I think those are some of the ways I try to stay involved in music. One of my long-term goals is to work at a performing arts venue, maybe in admin or operations, ticketing, box office sales…or something like that.
What made you decide to run for VP? What was the election process like?
I started off as the Stood Communications Lead my sophomore year. That was my first introduction to the PSGA. I didn't know much about the PSGA but I knew I wanted to be involved somehow. I really loved The Stood so I started out by doing social media for The Stood. When I started going to the student activity board meetings, I thought it was really cool how everyone was very involved on campus. One of my friends told me I should go to an E-board position, and I just did it. I ended up really loving my position and I think I'm very fit for it compared to the other E-board position.
For the election process, I had to go around and ask for 50 signatures in order to become an official candidate. I walked up to a bunch of strangers and was like, "Hey I wanna be Vice President of the student government. If you give me a signature that would get me one step closer to becoming an official candidate." I was the only one running and I got it, and now I'm here.
Talk about your position as VP. What are some of your responsibilities?
One of my favorite parts of my position is how closely I work with the student-run services, for example, The Phoenix, SubMag, student-run radio station WPSR, Mount Olympus, The Free Store, The L Center, and PTV (Purchase Television). I oversee all the student-run services. The student-run services have become an outlet for students to express their passions and talents, whether in art, writing, sustainability, music, etc. I love it when students take charge of their passions and host events, initiatives, and activities, and I like supervising the different categories of services.
The other part of my job is hiring people and hiring paid positions. For example, I hired the student directors into their positions. I've hired people who work at The Stood for the Stood coordinator. I oversee the PSGA office and lead HR meetings.
What are the main differences between the PSGA President and VP?
Sophia Pallozzi (PSGA President) oversees everybody on the executive board. She's the one that's delegating tasks to everybody on the E-board. I assist her with E-board duties; mostly because she's in charge of communicating with admin. I don't really communicate with the admin so that's mostly her position. That's one of the main differences between my position and hers.
What are some of the positives and difficulties that come with being in your position?
My platform gives me a lot of opportunities to make sure people do what they love. I think that my position gives people a lot of freedom in their experiences at Purchase. At the same time, I don't have as much power as people think I do. If people want change, the students could be more vocal and then I would be able to help. If I don't know about a situation then I can't really do anything about it. I can't bring it up with anyone if I'm not aware of what people are lacking on campus. I feel like we get blamed for a lot of things that we can't really change or control. I think that's one downside to my position.
What is essential for you to focus on during this semester?
This semester, specifically in my job, I'm looking to hire new service directors who are either graduating or not returning. I think that might be a little bit of a challenge because a lot of the service directors are seniors, so I have to look for other students who are willing to take over those student leadership positions. Most importantly, I need to train whoever decides to step into my position. Whoever gets my position next year I will train them and prepare them for everything and anything that comes their way. I'm focusing on a turn of employees.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your position? Why is it important for students to vote?
I would say it's important to vote because the people who are in the student leadership positions have a lot of say in where the MSAF (Mandatory Student Activity Fee) funds go to. If you want to see more activities, initiatives, and see a better use of your money, I would say to vote for students who you know are passionate, considerate, and really focused on the well-being of the students here.
PSGA Voting for Primary Elections will open on Pantherlink on March 4 at noon and close on March 11 at 11:59 p.m.
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