Jared Ginsburg and Sam Coxe are running to be Undergraduate Student Government’s president and vice president, respectively, with the goal of improving the Trojan experience through an emphasis on student input.

Ginsburg, a junior majoring in political science, currently serves as the USG director of campus affairs. Coxe, a sophomore majoring in psychology, serves as a Greek senator.

Election 2012 · Jared Ginsburg, USG director of campus affairs, and Samantha Coxe, a Greek senator, are running for the office of president and vice president. - Courtesy of Jared Ginsburg

“We decided to run because of our passion for the Trojan Family, but at the same time, as great of a school as USC is, and the endless amount of opportunities it offers, we both see room for improvement,” Coxe said.

Ginsburg and Coxe are running on a platform that calls for a three- to five-day fall break in October, the opening of a university-sponsored textbook exchange, the pursuit of corporate sponsorship to bring more well-known artists to campus and improvements to the Lyon Center, including finger scan detection to enter the Lyon Center and a camera that allows students to monitor the Lyon Center’s traffic flow online.

“Every item on our platform has already been reviewed by USC senior administrators, so when we’re out there on Trousdale campaigning with students, we’re not making empty promises,” Ginsburg said. “If elected, we’re going to be committed to making sure [our platform] is implemented.”

Ginsburg and Coxe plan to stay connected with the student body by improving the transparency of USG and increasing the number of surveys distributed to students.

“We want to make the interaction between USG and the student body far more transparent than it is,” Ginsburg said. “The student body needs to feel far closer to the Undergraduate Student Government and feel that we are a resource for them. We’re here to help them.”

Ginsburg and Coxe said their platform is unique because it contains a long-term plan for future generations of Trojans.

“A lot of our platform points are one-year plans that we want to have completed by the end of our term, but a lot of things are ideas we want to lay the foundation for, so when the subsequent terms come in, they can build on it,” Coxe said. “We want to create a five- to 10- year blueprint for some of the things.”

As the university continues to expand, Ginsburg and Coxe said, it is essential that student input be incorporated into the design and functionality of the new buildings.

“The USC Master Plan is redeveloping the University Village, and we have to make sure we have student input in there,” Ginsburg said. “We have to know what type of restaurants, what type of supermarkets, what type of services and stores are going to be provided and available for all students at those venues.”

Ginsburg is involved in academic organizations such as Marshall Business Student Government, Marshall Student Ambassadors, Global Leadership Program and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and political and cultural groups including USC Hillel, Trojans for Israel and College Republicans. He is also a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.

Coxe is a Trojan Spirit Leader, vice president of the Operation Smile club, membership chair for a Best Buddies chapter, a member of Society 53 and vice president of Panhellenic Council for Delta Gamma.

Ginsburg and Coxe said their involvement in various organizations on campus has prepared them for being president and vice president of USG.

“This means more to us than anything we’re doing at USC, and we really want to show to the student body, through our care for what we’ve done so far, that, if elected, we will translate this effort into our administration,” Ginsburg said.

Video edited by: Alexis Driggs | Daily Trojan

For more coverage on the 2012 USG elections, click here.