On Sunday, at 4 p.m., junior psychology and justice studies dual major Alexandra Burroughs was elected student body vice president for the 2017-18 academic year.
Burroughs, who was not formerly a member of Student Senate, became interested in the vice president position when her running mate and friend, Student Body President-elect Carley Rotenberg, was elected vice president for the 2016-17 year.
Burroughs and Rotenberg met as freshman roommates in Christensen Hall, immediately becoming friends over their mutual aspiration to become as involved in campus life as possible.
Burroughs has been a member of Chi Omega since the start of freshman year. She now holds the position of alumni director, and is currently a member of Greek InterVarsity, an organization that brings fraternity and sorority members together through faith.
During her sophomore year, Burroughs began to hone in on her choice of major by participating in UNH’s Mock Trial Program and attending Pre-Law Society meetings.
In January, shortly after returning from her semester abroad in Budapest, Burroughs went to UNH’s leadership camp in the White Mountains, led by Dave Zamansky.
Although this will be her first involvement in student government, Burroughs feels confident that each club and organization she has participated in up until this point has prepared her to take on the position of vice president.
“I think that everything I’ve been involved with up until now has trained me in good time management skills and good work ethic,” Burroughs said. “I have no doubt that I can handle [being student body vice president].”
Burroughs has been working up a list of issues she’d like to bring to light, planning to fix them once she officially takes office on May 1. Among these issues is the hope to continue improving the student body’s relationship with and their awareness of the Student Senate.
According to Burroughs, this year’s Student Senate voter turnout was roughly 1,800 out of approximately 16,000 students. Student outreach is one of Burroughs’ biggest priorities, as she, “does not think enough students know about Student Senate.”
Additionally, Burroughs would like to team up with Divest UNH in an effort to cut back on the campus’s fossil fuel emissions. More specifically, Burroughs hopes to have a Blue Light System implemented at the intersection of Strafford Avenue and Edgewood Road.
“[It’s a] dimly lit intersection and I’ve had multiple friends personally tell me that they’ve felt unsafe walking [in that area] at night,” Burroughs said.
With May 1 just around the corner, Burroughs is looking forward to “getting the ball rolling” on these proposals and more. According to Burroughs, the election came at the perfect time.
“[Rotenberg and I are] both going to be seniors, but we both really wanted to graduate feeling accomplished,” Burroughs said. “I really want to do as much for the school as I can before I leave because these past three years [at UNH] have been awesome…and I think being student body president and vice president is one of the best things you could do to give back to the school.”
Burroughs has big plans for both her final year at UNH and beyond. After graduating in the spring of 2018, she hopes to move to Boston to attend law school.
