Riding his bicycle to the new Student Union Aug. 23, new ASU East Student General Assembly President Jon Russell, exercise and wellness senior, welcomed me with a warm smile. Originally from Gilbert, Russell is married to Natalie McClure, a political science senior at ASU Main. Recently the young couple celebrated their first anniversary. Russell is planning to attend medical school in the near future.
Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
A: I married the most beautiful girl ever. I came to ASU East right after high school just because I didn’t want to drive over to Tempe. I spent two years in Paraguay as a missionary and learned as many languages as I could. I love the learning experience and love being challenged to grow. … I am extremely excited because East campus feels like a real university. Today, as I was walking out of my class, I witnessed students gathering and talking in groups, walking together. Before it was more of a “come and go” feel. I want ASU East to be an exciting, all-inclusive campus, yet I want to keep the same easygoing tone that we already have.
Q: Do you plan to promote the upcoming presidential election? If yes, how?
A: Yes we are. ASU East SGA gives out voter registration packets to students, and the new Student Union will televise the presidential debate and then have students discuss how the debate went.
Q: Name a few things that need to be improved on ASU East Campus.
A: First of all I think lighting needs to be improved on the ASU East Campus for safety reasons. I don’t want an accident to become the reason for them to improve lighting. Second, our public transportation system needs to be improved between campuses. Last but not least, promote more student activities by taking advantage of the new Student Union and new golf driving range to get students involved. I want SGA to be worthwhile, and I want students to know what student government is and what we do for them.
Q: Tell me about the relationship between the student body and administration?
A: So far, I think we have a good relationship. Administration has been of great help as we’ve been getting started, but we are leery of being viewed as an extension of the administration, which we are not. We represent the students, not administration. We aren’t here to sugarcoat everything that administration does, but to serve student needs.
Reach the reporter at nargiza.paltasheva@asu.edu.
