Brandon Carroll

I have been working a lot with Don Williams, who is the head of the VT Bookstore about a new possible SGA Fundraiser. Here is it broken down:

• 9100 Students live on campus
• You would pay $5 extra at the bookstore to have your books delivered directly to your room
• SGA would work in cohesion with Res Life and the bookstore to make this work. RAs would have to deliver books during their training workshops, and the bookstore would build the backend system.

Here is the breakdown of the finances: Book Delivery Forecast


What do you think?

It has been one heckuva week. First, I went to Richmond for a 1 1/2 hour SCHEV (State Council for Higher Education in Virginia) meeting and then right back to VT. We talked about current issues that college students face and I was the VT representative. I talked about the budget situation and how I believe that legislatures are not making Higher Ed a priority like they used to. Quick Stat: In 1999, 55% of VT's budget came from the state. Today, only 12% comes from the state. The rest is up to tuition, research, and private contributions. 


It was amazing because every school in Virginia that receives state funding (community colleges, 2 year institutions, and 4 year institutions) were all represented. I thought the meeting was very valuable and it will give me the opportunity to voice VT's concerns directly to the state.


Then, that evening I ate dinner with 8 students at Dr. Frank Shushok's House - he is the Associate VP of Student Affairs. Together, we make up the President's Council, which I am so passionate about. I feel as if we get students from various backgrounds, genders, and ages that we can be a subset of the overall population. Frank oversees Housing/Dining, Res Life, Fraternity/Sorority, Student Conduct, and Career Services. It is important to be able to talk with him in an informal manner about issues on campus. It was a great evening and he truly cares about the student voice...which is refreshing.


Today (October 9th), I met Gus Deeds, who is Creigh Deeds son. It gave me an opportunity to talk politics with someone who will be influential in Virginia, whether his father wins or not. I explained to him that higher education returns 3 to 1 on its investment. Smarter Virginians = Better Jobs = More Money = More Tax Revenue. It is important that the state of VA ensure that higher education is not forgotten once the economy begins to recover. It was a very successful week to say the least.


Here are some upcoming SGA Events:

This week has been something special. Everything is really coming into fruition. Upcoming Events Include:

1. Extreme Campus Makeover, October 19-21

• Prizes include: Maroon 5 tickets, Ipods, EA Sports Games, Free T-shirts, and a catered lunch with University officials.