USG president inaugurated at Senate meeting


The 2016-2017 USG student body president and vice president were sworn in Tuesday night in the Ronald  Tutor Campus Center, following a ceremony where the 12 2016-2017 senators took the oath of office.

President Edwin Saucedo and Vice President Austin Dunn both took the oath of office, after which Saucedo delivered his inaugural address. Saucedo spoke of his surprise at obtaining the position of student body president, which he previously did not think was possible.

“As a freshman, I never pictured running for president to be a feasible goal or something that was meant for people like me,” Saucedo said.

Saucedo also mentioned his experience as a first-generation college student achieving success at USC, and briefly addressed his parents in Spanish.

“As the first of my family to go to college, I first needed to prove I could get the grades in classes before worrying about getting involved,” Saucedo said. “People in higher office at this University often come from affluent backgrounds, something I could not relate to.”

After his address, Saucedo expressed hopes to increase USG visibility and to involve more of the student body in the process.

“We’re excited for all the changes at USC that we’ll make a reality,” Saucedo said. “We want to make sure that senators are representing student voices, [and that] we are really opening up our student government. Students should know this year that the Senate represents them, and if they have any issues or concerns, that they should talk about that.”

Twelve senators were also inaugurated during the ceremony, who were elected in February out of a pool of 20 candidates. Despite a significant decrease in voter turnout, new senator, Leena Danpour, a junior studying political science, was hopeful about the diverse opinions of the new Senate.

“I’m very excited for the next year,” Danpour said. “I think we have a great group of people [with] very diverse opinions, [who are] very outspoken. I’m looking forward to what they have to say.”

Danpour also spoke on her hopes for the upcoming administrative year, especially concerning disagreements in opinion.

“For this next year, I hope that all senators voice their opinions, say what they want to say, and I hope that everyone out there has to hear what [we] have to say.” Danpour said. “The best solution comes with all opinions combined into a nice compromise. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Sen. Sabrina Enriquez, a sophomore majoring in mathematics, was sworn in for a second term as senator. Enriquez expressed enthusiasm toward the new Senate and hoped for less turbulence than in the previous Senate.

“I’m very excited to start my second term,” Enriquez said. “The first one was very rocky. I’m excited to get back at it and continue with my projects. We can only go up from where we started.”