Last Thursday, NYU Shanghai’s student government hosted an official announcement party. It was held in room B18 (near the cafeteria), which is the student government’s new office for the 2015-2016 academic year. The student government is the voice of students and the official link between students and the NYU administration. It constantly works for transparency and full-disclosure. Contrary to popular misinformation, the student government does not have the authority to make administrative changes. However, the student government will express students’ concerns to administration as effectively as possible and assist students to bring forth change. As part of this plan for transparency, students can track the progress of these issues – as well as which committee is responsible – through the student government folder on OrgSync.The student government holds fortnightly forums where students can gather to receive updates, share concerns, and offer suggestions. These forums are an essential part of student life at NYU Shanghai because they allow students to get together and discuss real issues that concern the daily lives of the student population. Students are welcome to contact the student government via OrgSync or the public WeChat account.At Thursday’s announcement party, the student government officially revealed the new members for the 2015-2016 year. President Michelle Huang led the event, which was open to all students currently studying at NYU Shanghai. The class representatives were selected through an election campaign. It was announced that the Class of 2018 Representative is Wes Livingstone, and the Class of 2019 Representative is Agnes Santiano. There are six committees within student government. They include Global Affairs, Internal Affairs, External Affairs, Student Events, Student Organizations, and Student Life & Residence. This year, there are 1-2 Assistant Director positions for freshmen within each committee (for each position, D represents Director, and AD represents Assistant Director).The Global Affairs Committee works to implementglobal initiatives across the NYU global network and to create opportunities for NYU Shanghai to collaboratewith other organizations worldwide. The members are Sevi Reyes (D), Kevin Orellana (D), Joanne Chun (AD), and Peter Hanhan (AD). The Internal Affairs Committee is responsible for overallStudent Government budgeting (including budgets for all other committees), marketing, design, public relations, and social mediaadministration. Members are Cheryl Li (D), Cha Mi Kim (AD), Jack Zhu Hua (AD), Eric Zuo (AD), and Hobin Kim (AD). The Student Organizations Committee is responsible for club funding, club recognition, new club development, and general support of club life at NYU Shanghai. Members are Puja Chandramohan (D), Elizabeth Tipping (AD), Gelila Getahun (AD), Jeffrey Kung (AD), and Andrew Lucas (AD). The Student Events Committee is responsible forplanning and hosting university-wideevents. Past events includetheWelcome Back Party, Halloween, Amethyst, Festival of the Arts, Dumpling Festival, Spring Formal, and theSophomore Farewell. Members are Annie Seaman (D), Claire Song (D), Savannah Billman (AD), and Yuqing Li (AD).The External Affairs Committee is responsible for building relationships (guan xi) between the NYU Shanghaistudent government and outside parties such as, but not limited to: local universities, alumni, outside businesses etc. Members include Leo Wang (D), Esme Wang (AD), and Millicent Wong (AD). The Student Life & Residence Committee is responsible for representing student body interests in regular meetings with administrative departments to improve students’ lives at NYU Shanghai. Members are Dylan Crow (D), Joey Yang (AD), and Tyler Roman (committee member). Assistant Directors were selected through the Executive Board and its directors. Application went through a fair, unbiased blind-screening. For applications to be successful, 4 out of 6 directors had to approve an application. Conversely, class representatives were elected by the members of the class. This year’s student government application was an extremely competitive process. Assistant directors were chosen for their relevant experience, enthusiasm, and best fit for the position. Hobin Kim, Assistant Director of Internal Affairs, stated, “It’s a great honor for me to serve as an Assistant Director of the Internal Affairs Committee of the student government. I am happy and looking forward to working with a talented group of students to help and assist our school in achieving our dream together as Chancellor Yu has said during our convocation.”Savannah Billman, Assistant Director of the Events Committee, said, “I’m proud to be a part of student government! I applied for the events committee because I love creating and planning, and it's amazing to collaborate everyone’s ideas together into an event we can all enjoy. And because this is only NYU Shanghai’s third year, we as the students have a lot of initiative in expanding what the school has to offer students.”Thursday’s event officially introduced NYU Shanghai’s third student government. With over a hundred students in attendance, it was an incredibly successful event that marked the beginning of a great year. This article was written by Joanne Chun. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: NYUSH Student Government