Burse, Greos to change USG structure

Eric Burse and Andy Greos, both currently directors for USG’s Program Board, are running for Undergraduate Student Government president and vice-president, advocating for improving the locks on dorms and expanding USCard to local restaurants.

Burse, a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism and political science, is currently the director of the Black Student Assembly. Greos, a sophomore majoring in business administration, is the director of production for Program Board.

“Throughout the year, we saw things that were done [well], but we also saw things that could have been done better,” Burse said. “We never thought about running, but when the time came closer, we thought that we actually had some valid ideas that could come to fruition, so we decided to run.”

Burse and Greos believe their diverse involvement and academics make them a dynamic pair and better representatives of the student population.

“Out of all the candidates on the ticket this year, we’re the only ones that provide any kind of fair representation,” Burse said. “The other two tickets are completely Greek.”

Burse currently serves as a residential advisor in Parkside Apartments and also works with the Annenberg admissions office. Greos is on the executive board of the Trojan Knights and a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity.

“We complement each other well,” Greos said. “We’re involved in very different things on campus, which allows [us] to reach a lot of different ideas and different constituencies.”

The two developed a platform looking to change the structure of USG. Two of the biggest changes the ticket advocates for are the creation of a student community service assembly in Program Board and allowing for traditional university events to be permanent fixtures in the USG budget.

“There’s no umbrella organization that represents [the service organizations],” Burse said. “We want to create a student community service assembly under Program Board. That’s a very big thing because there haven’t been any additions of assemblies for 10 years.”

The pair wants to encourage the university to allow for corporate sponsorships of events to increase funding and the quality of events.

Burse and Greos are also looking to set a series of long-lasting goals for their administration and administrations to come, if elected to office.

“We’re going to sit down with Chris [Cheng, current USG President] and Nehi [Ogbevoen, current USG vice-president] and also the USG president before and try to make a 10-year plan, of where we want to see USG in 10 years,” Burse said. “It’ll allow the next leader to continue working on the same projects that we were working on.”

In addition to improving safety and increasing the reach of USCard, Burse and Greos also have plans to improve sustainability. The two are working to enhance the new office of sustainability.

“We’re lobbying for a permanent sustainability office with professional and student workers so that we can really maintain that focus for the long-run,” Greos said.

Though USG presidential and vice-presidential candidates are often juniors, sophomores Burse and Greos do not think their age will be a problem.

“Andy and I have been significantly involved with USG and Program Board for our two years here,” Burse said. “We have great knowledge of things going on at USC … our grasp of what it means to be a Trojan is the same as [the other candidates’].”

The two have a volunteer team of 167 students who have done specific research in each area of campus, and they have brought all those ideas together to create their platform, according to Burse.

“We want to enhance the experience for every single student here,” Burse said. “Things that students will remember 20 years from now, that made their Trojan experience here at USC the best.”

For more coverage on the 2011 USG elections, click here.