Kurth, Park sworn in

The new president, vice president and Senate of the Undergraduate Student Government for the 2013-14 academic year were inaugurated Tuesday night after the final Senate meeting of the school year.

Inauguration · Chief Justice Jimmy Castrellon swears Christian Kurth in as Undergraduate Student Government President Tuesday. — Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

After voting on the last items of unfinished business, the Senate meeting transitioned into the formal inauguration. Attendees dressed in formal attire for the occasion.

President-elect Christian Kurth, who previously served as the USG director of university affairs, and Vice President-elect Ryan Park, previously a Greek senator, were sworn into office by the Chief Justice Jimmy Castrellon after the new senators took their oaths. After being introduced by former USG President Mikey Geragos, Kurth delivered a speech outlining his goals for the upcoming term.

“We have been entrusted with the responsibility to help students feel at home on campus, to plan the greatest concert of their lives that they can enjoy with friends, to help them experience the culture of Los Angeles and to make sure their voices are heard by the administrations,” Kurth said in his inaugural speech.

During their campaign, Kurth and Park promised to create an ultimate myUSC smartphone app, increase library hours, repair sidewalks on The Row and encourage the participation of the entire student body in USG’s decisions.

“We want to help students understand what we do and why we do it, which is working to improve the USC undergraduate experience,” Park said. “We want students to rally around USG and use it as a voice to communicate [with] the administration.”

Park said his experiences as Greek Senator have prepared him for the vice presidency.

“Vice president is definitely going to be much more dynamic of a position, but I’ve learned a lot about the vice president’s responsibilities through osmosis by being on the Senate and learning from Vinnie [Prasad],” Park said.

In addition to the inauguration of the president and vice president, 12 senators were sworn into office.

Sophomores Nicole Schrad and freshman Logan Heley and junior Jamie Dick were inaugurated as Greek senators, while juniors Brett Ressler, Matthew Leiv and Lorin Winata were sworn into the positions of commuter senators.

Freshmen David Choi, Michael Nguyen and Samantha Cheng and sophomores Matthew Prusak, Brandon Chang and Brianna McRee were inaugurated to serve next year’s residential constituency in the Senate.

Park said that though the inauguration is an important event for transitioning the new officers, the process would be better carried out sooner.

“It’s essentially the passing of the torch between the old Senate and the incoming Senate, as well as the old president and vice president and the new ones,” Park said. “It’s more of a formality and should be done directly after we’re elected, in my opinion.”

Geragos and Prasad said they have mixed feelings about the conclusion of their administration, but are optimistic about the future of USG.

“It’s definitely bittersweet to pass the torch,” Geragos said. “I’ve had such an amazing time leading this organization and I will miss the work, but it has been a tiring process. It makes it a lot easier for me to pass it over knowing that I’m giving the presidency to one of my closest friends.”

Prasad said he will always cherish the relationships he built and the things he was able to accomplish during his term, but that he is ready to move on from USG and looks forward to watching Kurth and Park head the organization.

Prasad also offered words of advice for the newly inaugurated administration, encouraging them to forge connections with others as soon as possible.

“I’d advise them to take the time to build relationships early, both inside of the organization and outside,” Prasad said. “Those relationships are key to tackling the challenges that come up throughout the year and creating the best possible experience for the undergraduates.”

In his speech, Kurth said he would continue to follow in Geragos’ footsteps in striving to build lasting relationships. He concluded by expressing his eagerness to begin his term.

“I truly believe that this year will be the greatest year USG has ever seen,” Kurth said, “and I can’t wait to get to work.”