MADRID – As expected after a tumultuous yet exciting electoral campaign, our new student government, led by Student President Ricardo D’Ambrosio, has published their first RECAP concerning their efforts during the month of May, along with their upcoming plans with the help of IE’s Administration. In a short interview with the Stork, Ricardo showed that he and his team are ecstatic to continue formalizing their proposals and are focusing on adopting proposals presented by the other teams during the online campaign.
For this reason, he emphasized that the expansion of the academic and extracurricular committees was “to allow committee leaders to chose their team and the people they believed to be most qualified.”
He said that even though he was aware that many have thought that this will further the bureaucratic system already vividly present in the university, this expansion would “allow us to give more exposure to the clubs and other student lead initiatives.”
Ricardo also mentioned that he and his team have already had two official meetings with the administration concerning the budget for next year and that they will not stop working until they achieve everything they proposed.
Therefore, he said that their main objective for this summer is to carry out several surveys and discussions where the student body can voice their opinion, in order to focus their efforts on the students’ demands.
“We are a student government by students for students. This is why we want to give everyone the visibility they deserve and have been asking for.”
Besides talking about the RECAP and what they have planned these past months, he also responded to how he and his team felt during the election and why policies should be improved for the years to come.
He believes that the bylaws concerning campaigning and elections should be reevaluated with the intention to “have less room for personal interpretations.” Adding to that, he thought that teams need a well structured guide to follow no matter the circumstances in which the elections are held, as a way to avoid controversies like the Sean Paul video in the future.
Nevertheless, he and his team are proud of what they were able to do during the campaign.
“When we found out we won it was both a great and scary feeling because now we hold a big responsibility, but we are sure that we can represent the student body to the best of our abilities.”
He also went on to say that he felt thrilled that several of the team leaders and candidates had made the choice to join Student Government and the Stork, since he believes that “everyone who ran had a story and a passion for what they were putting forward.”
He also said that the COVID-19 crisis will not pose any type of impediment regarding next years plans. “We have been working ever since we received the title, and no matter when we are able to come back all our initiatives will be executed.”
Time will tell if the Student Government can indeed work around COVID-19 “no matter when we come back.” While cases remain steady in Spain, much of the world, especially those holding IE students, have not yet overcome the virus. This could prove difficult to manage come September.
Stay tuned to the Stork as we hold the new Student Government administration to account through news updates, investigations, and op-eds.
