As Team Us stepped down from the Student Government Association Wednesday, former President Steve Geraci received a key to the city of Muncie, and Team Lisec candidates took an oath of office vowing to improve communication in all aspects of the Ball State University campus.
Students, family, friends and members of the SGA Senate filled Cardinal Hall in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center during the inauguration ceremony to welcome President Asher Lisec, Vice President Rodney Blount, treasurer John Boone and secretary Michele Faroh. The new executives pledged to carry out the duties and responsibilities of their offices.
Before Team Us left office, Mayor Dan Canan said he had a good relationship with Team Us and appreciated the hard work they did with Muncie.
Geraci was given a key to the city by Canan for his involvement with the city through the Mayor's Commission and work with the MITS Loop.
Geraci said as a 10-year Muncie resident, having the key meant a great deal to him, and receiving the key from his town was an honor. The key is not an automatic tradition for SGA presidents and varies every year based on the president's commitment to the city.
During the past four years, only Jayson Manship did not receive the key, Geraci said.
After receiving the key, Geraci said he hoped Team Lisec would be able to succeed and gave advice to the new executives.
"The only way to silence your critics is to quit fighting them, and do your job way better than they ever thought you could do," he said. "And I have every faith in your ability to do so."
Lisec said the determination Team Us had to not give up would be something she would use in her leadership. Even when people told the team no, it kept working and succeeded, she said.
Betsy Mills, a sophomore SGA parliamentarian, said Team Us had a lot of critics, and she hoped Team Lisec would be able to handle the critics as Team Us did.
Lisec said she was ready to get started, and the first items on the team's platform she wanted to initiate pertained to communication.
"I want to get newsletters out to all the organizations once a month and get news advertisements in the Daily News right away," Lisec said.
Geraci said he hoped Team Lisec did not forget about the communication aspect of its platform.
"Communication is the key to this job," he said.
Matt Bare, a sophomore off-campus senator, said he thought the inauguration went very well and looked forward to seeing what Team Lisec was going to accomplish.
"[Its] platform as a whole is well thought out and put together," he said. "I hope Team Lisec will continue to work with the mayor and commissioners and will continue the success Team Us has paved the way for."
Mills said she was pleased to see an enthusiastic audience with both Cardinal Movement and Team Lisec supporters. Having both teams' supporters in the audience showed they could all come together to better the campus, she said.
Mills said Lisec would be a very strong figure and would make the campus even more prestigious.
"Lisec will bridge the gap between students and faculty," she said. "I believe she and her slate has a very promising future."
Carol Gibson, Lisec's aunt, said she was excited for her niece. The leadership she has now will help her in whatever career she decides to pursue, she said.
Mills said the enthusiasm in the room with the senators and those in attendance showed the determination and dedication SGA would bring during the 2006-2007 academic year.
"I think SGA is ready to crank it up," Mills said. "It is going to be a very good year."
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