USG revives State of the Student Body
Undergraduate Student Government President Monish Tyagi spoke about USC’s “forward-moving mentality” and signed a commendation of the football program on Tuesday night at the State of the Student Body address.
Tyagi revived a USG tradition of delivering an annual speech, which has not been exercised for several years.
“Starting about a month ago, the senators decided it would be cool to bring this back,” Tyagi said before the speech. “I’m glad we were able to.”
In his speech, Tyagi said student life at USC is defined by progress.
“When you take away all of the tangible items — the programs, the projects, the meetings, the events — student life at USC, at it’s core, really boils down to a feeling of connection,” Tyagi said.
He said this connection between USC students was most evident when the Trojans across the country watched junior quarterback Matt Barkley announce that he would return next season. Tyagi paraphrased Barkley’s remarks because he said they were emblematic of USC’s desire for constant improvement.
“We have some serious unfinished business to attend to, and [we] intend to play a part in it,” Tyagi said. “That is the USC mentality. That is the USC way. There is always unfinished business.”
Though Tyagi highlighted many achievements from his term, which expires in early April, he said he wanted to avoid a “laundry-list recitation of accomplishments.”
While Tyagi noted the importance of future work, Tyagi said his administration achieved both of its primary goals: relationship-building and addressing student needs through advocacy and programming.
“In my mind, the state of student life and the state of the student body at USC has never been better,” Tyagi said.
Before delivering his speech, the USG Senate unanimously passed a resolution commending the football team for its season. The resolution was sponsored by Residential Senator Jordan Vieira and sponsored by Greek Senator Cody Rapp and Residential Senator Samantha Coxe. Resolutions officially communicate the student body’s opinion on an issue.
“They also reinvigorated the Trojan spirit and fervor in a way that will intimidate any team we play next year,” USG Greek Senator Cody Rapp said.
Director of Football Operations Jeff Fucci, redshirt junior quarterback John Manoogian, freshman offensive guard Cyrus Hobbi, redshirt junior punter Kyle Negrete, senior defensive end Armond Armstead and redshirt senior cornerback Boomer Roepke attended the event.
Hobbi and Roepke spoke after the resolution’s passage. Though Hobbi thanked USG for passing the resolution, he hopes fans at the Coliseum will be more enthusiastic next year.
“We need to get a little louder in the Coliseum,” Hobbi said. “We have great support [in the students section], but we need to pick it up.”