Jasper Noble, a junior who is double majoring in political science and history, is the new SGA president. Kayla Payne has been elected executive vice president, Sabrina Collins is academic vice president and Lydia Burns is the new services vice president.

Noble spoke with UofLNews about his plans for the future of SGA, and the role SGA plays in advocating for students as the university develops a new strategic plan.

UofLNews: How long have you been involved in SGA and what has that role entailed?

Noble: I got involved in SGA as soon as I possibly could. I was involved with Task Force Freshman as a freshman. I was the mentee of the chief of staff at that point. My sophomore year I ran for senate and served on the Arts and Sciences Appropriations Committee. That was a really interesting process just to see how the legislative process works here. During my sophomore and into my junior year I ran for academic vice president and did not win. Then I was appointed the deputy chief of staff where I am currently working under President [Jonathan] Fuller.

UofLNews: What made you pursue this leadership role in the organization? 

Noble: Well, I’ve been a part of it for so long – over three years – and I have come up with things that I want to do. I have a vision for what SGA could be, a vision that I think a lot of people share. I think that it’s something I have kind of always wanted to have in SGA as a leadership role but I wasn’t sure what that would be back then. This year, I felt I was ready for this – to do a good job and be a good leader for students on campus.

UofLNews: What are your biggest goals as SGA president?

Noble: I want to open up more channels of communication. I know that a lot of people feel like SGA isn’t listening to them and even more people don’t even know what SGA does. So why would you reach out to them if you don’t know what they’re doing? So, awareness is important to what we’re doing. With that, comes transparency. I will sit on the Board of Trustees. I think that it’s important as students that we understand what this highest governing body is. I want to be that voice saying “Here’s what’s going on at the very highest level.” I want to look at things like affordability, safety and mental health awareness. I want to do everything I can to make sure that we address student needs.

UofLNews: What do you think will be your biggest challenges serving in this role?

���Dz�����:��I just know that it’s difficult. I worked with Jonathan and I was [former SGA President] Vishnu’s roommate before that, so I’ve been close to this role for some time. I know that it’s tough to balance things that students want and what is beneficial for the university as a whole. I’m absolutely committed to making sure that when students have needs, and when things aren’t being paid attention to, we start paying attention. On the other side of that coin, there is an entire university to maintain. We’re coming out of this transitional period where things haven’t been so good on a national stage and now they’re getting better. So I also want to make sure we are focusing on where our priorities are and continuing that until we reach a point where we can address all of these individual issues.

UofLNews: You will be serving during the university’s strategic planning initiative, do you have any thoughts or goals for what you will seek to accomplish?

���Dz�����:��I’ve been lucky enough to serve on the teaching and enrollment strategic planning committee. I think we’re coming up with some really good plans on how to bring more people to UofL to add to the size of this community. With more people comes more success. There’s more breadth of experience for students to draw from. We’re looking at new markets to engage with and new ways to bring students in the local area who aren’t necessarily looking at UofL. We can show them all of the incredible opportunities that UofL has to offer.

UofLNews: How would you describe your leadership style?

���Dz�����:��I like to describe it as an open-door style. I’m confident in my ability to make decisions, but I’m only confident in my ability to make decisions if the people around me are there to offer criticism. I don’t think there’s any use in surrounding yourself with those who only agree with you. So I think the more people that critique the decision that I want to make and the more people that provide me with anecdotes and their experiences to contradict my understanding of something, that’s what going to shape better policy and better decision making.

UofLNews: When your time as president comes to an end, what do you hope your legacy will be?

���Dz�����:��I hope that there is a much larger increase of students who are aware of what SGA can do for them. I think that, at its core, student government is a tool and the fact that not enough students are utilizing that tool makes it that much more important that we make ourselves present and make ourselves known.

UofLNews: Why did you choose to attend the University of Louisville?

���Dz�����:��In high school I was always thinking, “I’ll never go to a state school because I want to see places outside of Kentucky.” But then I applied to UofL for the crazy good scholarship bonuses we have. I was lucky enough to become a McConnell Scholar, so the level of opportunity that I was able to get here was something that I didn’t see anywhere else in the country. I also would get to be close to home to see my family every single month. It just worked out that the opportunities aligned perfectly with what I wanted to do.

UofLNews: What’s your favorite thing about UofL?

���Dz�����:��The people that I’ve met here. A lot of them have similar upbringings as me and then so many more of them are so different. I didn’t know there was this microcosm community at UofL. I grew up in Cincinnati, and it’s just totally a different urban and suburban culture. I just love the people I’ve met here, not only on campus but in the city, too. I think it’s a fun, vibrant place to be and I’ve really enjoyed it.

Joining Noble on the Executive Cabinet are:

Kayla Payne – executive vice president: A sophomore political science major, Payne will focus on forming a student diversity coalition and continuing the effort to create an atmosphere of inclusivity for minority groups on campus.

Sabrina Collins – academic vice president: Collins is a sophomore political science major with a double minor in mathematics and women and gender studies. Collins’ period in office will include a focus on improving academic equity among all student groups and ensuring that every student will have the opportunity to succeed.

Lydia Burns – services vice president: A junior political science and mathematics double major, Burns will work to create a greener campus that is affordable and accessible to all students.

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The SGA election had the with about 3,800 student voters — about 20 percent of the student body.

In addition to his new role as president, Tirumala is a member of the Student Orientation Staff and has been involved on campus in housing and Greek life. Off campus, Tirumala has interned with the state legislature, the Kentucky Attorney General, AmeriCorps and the World Affairs Council of Kentucky. The Corbin, Kentucky, native has always been interested in politics and history and plans to strengthen the university through his position.

UofLNews had the chance to talk to Tirumala about his interests and goals as SGA president. 

UofLNews: Why did you choose to attend the University of Louisville?

Tirumala: Coming from a small town I was looking to go to a bigger city for college. At the same time, I did not want to go too far from home. I had heard good things about UofL. I had a really solid tour in my first visit here. It just seemed like the best fit, all things considered.

UofLNews: What’s your favorite thing about UofL?

Tirumala: One thing that I’ve always liked is how close our campus is: physically and figuratively. You can walk our Belknap campus in less than 20 minutes. Over time you also begin to recognize a lot of familiar faces on campus. I’ve also realized that pretty much every student is just a few degrees away from every other student. I like the idea that we all kind of know each other; a big UofL family. A close second is probably the city itself. I’m still discovering new events and things to do.

UofLNews: How long have you been involved in SGA?

Tirumala: I’ve been involved since I was a freshman. I was a member of Taskforce Freshman where I assisted the SGA Communications Director. I also served as vice president of Freshman Arts & Sciences Council. Last year I was an Arts & Sciences Student Senator and Chair of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee. I currently serve on the Executive Board for our service branch, the Engage Lead Serve Board.

UofLNews: Further, what made you pursue this leadership role in the organization? 

Tirumala: Like I mentioned, I have been involved in Student Government for a few years now. SGA does a lot of things behind the scenes that help make student life easier. I like to help people so this was a good outlet for that. Next year is a pivotal year for our University so I ran to make sure that SGA continued to represent and advocate for students effectively.

UofLNews: What are your biggest goals as SGA president?

Tirumala: We want students to feel safe and included at the University. We want to hire a new University President that will put students first. We will make sure that the University and the Foundation are being transparent. We will also advocate for accountability from affiliated housing, object to further limitations on parking, and set aside additional funding for bigger campus events.  

UofLNews: What are your biggest challenges serving in this role? Your biggest rewards?

Tirumala: One of the biggest challenges will be hiring new administrators. These are major decisions that may impact our community for decades. I want to act with great caution since I know my actions speak for thousands of students. There’s a lot of complex decisions that may be coming up before the Board this year. Therefore I will try to consult as many students as possible. At the same time, this is a huge opportunity for personal and professional growth. I know the work will be difficult but I am excited to get started.

UofLNews: How would you describe your leadership style?

Tirumala: I am very consensus driven. I don’t have the answer to everything so I like to gather as much information as I can before I make a decision. I will be working closely with my SGA colleagues as well as student leaders across our campus. SGA represents all students so I take the consequences of our actions seriously. At the same time, I am not afraid to take a stand when I feel that something is important. I will not accept students being ignored and I will certainly speak out when I feel that student interests are being threatened. 

UofLNews: When your time as president comes to an end, what do you hope your legacy as SGA president will be?

Tirumala: I’m hoping that by the end of my tenure, the University is in a much stronger position with a new President and senior administrators. Internally, I’m hoping to make SGA more efficient and effective in helping students. This means following through on promises about accountability with housing, construction projects, and improving campus life.

Six students and associate general counsel Amy Shoemaker were in the Capitol March 12-15 as part of the fourth, annual .

“Our goal was to put a student face to the University of Louisville and express to legislators how UofL benefits us,” said Student Government Association Political Coordinator Kevin Grout. “We had the opportunity to meet with all eight of Kentucky’s offices—six congressmen and two senators—and they all seemed very responsive to us.”

Grout, who scheduled the meetings with the decision-makers, said topics discussed included federal funding for students and research and legislation to address sexual assaults.

Student participants in addition to Grout were Victoria Allen, SGA president; Brandon McReynolds, SGA graduate school vice-president and senate speaker; Tyler Poteet, SGA Speed School student council president; Sam Gentry, SGA business school senator; and John Weber, law school Student Bar Association section representative.

The 2016 advocacy trip was hosted by Virginia Tech and strives to give the 15-member ACC schools a collective voice in support of higher education and related issues.