By Sherry Kughn
JSU News Bureau

March 9, 2004 -- Jacksonville State University's Student Government Association has four new officers to lead them through the 2004-05 school year.

Heading up the Association is the new President, Emily Williams, of Hokes Bluff.

"I am extremely excited about serving the student body," she said. "I hope to educate it to the many positive aspects of the SGA. In addition to working directly with the students, I hope to improve the campus of JSU by working with the faculty and the staff. I plan on being the liaison between the students and the faculty to ensure satisfaction from both groups."

Williams is an English major in her junior year. She is pursuing a minor in Spanish. After graduation she'd like to obtain her master's degree in college student affairs, and possibly pursue a doctorate as well.

The newly-elected vice president of the Student Senate is Alison Pierce. She is from Boaz and is seeking a bachelor's in business. She is a junior.

"I hope to keep the student organizations informed about the senate meetings," she said. "My goals are to increase the attendance at senate meetings, increase the turnout at the involvement meeting during the fall of 2004, and help the committees obtain all of their goals."

Mardracus L. Russell of Dadeville is the new vice president of student activities. He is a music education and social science major. He plans to become a band director or a social science teacher on the secondary level.

"For the upcoming school year," said Russell, "I plan to work on different things that may not have been so successful this past year on the Student Activities Council."

This coming year's vice president of organizational affairs is Allison Crow, a junior from Alexandria. She is majoring in Elementary Education.

"With this office I hope to give the Organizational Council a much larger voice in the SGA," she said. "I want to appoint an executive council to help me make decisions, and I would like to have them on the SGA retreat to show that the council wants to be held to a higher account within the SGA."

Crow also said she would like to continue to keep the organizations accountable for the money that they are allocated each semester, to keep in place the guidelines that she made as assocations committee head, and to continue to help the SGA grow.