Amidst food trucks, petting zoos and an airbrush tattoo station, Kevin Leon, UNLV student body president, delivered the State of the University Address. Leon spoke to students during the Foodie Fest event hosted by the Rebel Events Board in part with the Consolidated Students (CSUN) of UNLV. In the CSUN State of the University Address, Leon acknowledges the vacancies in CSUN. He speaks on both allocated and available funding and shares initiatives executed during the school year.
To begin his address, Leon speaks on the integrity of CSUN despite the drama. He mentions his executive board has filled positions and turned the student government that was in shambles a year ago, into a functional and somewhat full unit. Leon encourages students to apply to fill the remaining senator vacancies.
After addressing how CSUN is currently functioning, Leon shares that the executive board was able to secure an additional $70,000 of funding increasing the CSUN funding to a historic amount of $490,000 dollars.
With the funding, CSUN was able to fund Registered Student Organizations (RSO) and the scholarship and grant committee was able to fund 18 scholarships. Leon encourages RSOs to apply for funding if they haven’t already and for students to apply for scholarships.
Leon goes on to speak about campus wide initiatives accomplished this school year.
The first initiative Leon spoke about was Senate bill 53-02. This initiative allows period products (pads and tampons) to be made available to individuals in the Delegate Library and Student Union for free. This initiative will take effect next semester with pad and tampon dispensers in the bathrooms of these facilities.
The next CSUN initiative discussed was the further enhancement of the engineering shop. Many engineering based RSOs work on projects there. Additional funding was provided to enhance students’ experience who utilize that space.
Leon then spoke about CSUN’s partnership with REB. CSUN reinforced their partnership with REB and was able to fund them $70,000.
Another initiative accomplished this academic year was the installation of bike lockers. CSUN was working on this initiative prior to the pandemic and there are now bike lockers in multiple locations on campus for students to utilize.
The CSUN Grant Program was the last initiative Leon spoke about. The program is mainly to help fund graduate students’ studies, travels and fees. Pre-law and Pre-med students would be able to use this grant to purchase LSat or MCat books.
After speaking about campus wide initiatives, Leon speaks on the value of CSUN.
“CSUN is not a perfect organization it never was and never will be. It’s made up of students. Despite the drama, the mistakes, the shortcomings, we never stop working to make sure you’re properly represented.” said Leon.
He explains that many who work for student government do not get the traditional academic breaks, but instead work through them to serve the students. He then encourages students to use CSUN and their resources and voice their concerns to their CSUN senators. Ending his speech with an encouraging statement:
“The next student body president will continue to create a better environment and more initiatives for you all to enjoy. So please, I ask you from the bottom of my heart to stay engaged on campus and if you see something say something. Come to us. We’re here for you, for your needs and to support you.” said Leon.
