Last spring, Taylor Bell, a senior majoring in political science, was elected the new student body president of the Utah Valley University Student Association.
Going into the position Bell had a few goals that he wanted to achieve while in office. Some of Bell’s goals included increasing collaborative events across campus, increasing the transparency of the UVUSA, strengthening school pride, encouraging opportunities for UVU students to get involved and raising awareness of the importance of mental health and campus safety.
After a summer of planning, Bell, working alongside the rest of the council, has started to work towards bringing UVU into a new era.
“I scored big with this council,” Bell said. “It is full of strong, independent women who don’t need me, but continue to support me no matter what. I also have Matt Hepworth as my chief of staff who keeps me focused and has my back.”
Bell and the council are bringing back a program called “Tips and Tricks”. Set up by Birch Eve, the student body president in the 2016-2017 academic year, the program offered tips to keep students informed about things on campus. Bell plans to rebrand the idea and wants to collect over 100 tips that will start to be displayed across campus announcement boards during the week of Homecoming.
Mental health is another topic Bell wants to bring to light. As a member of the Health Task Force, his focus is to “gather information, see what’s provided and learn what’s needed.” He wants to ensure that students are aware of what resources they have available. Bell also wants students to decide what additional resources should be created to assist UVU students in getting the mental health help they need.
Additionally, Bell plans to review and adjust the student government election process. Previously, the UVUSA president was in charge of choosing the members of the Election Committee. Instead, Bell wants the president to choose a chair for the Election Committee, and then have the chair choose the rest of the committee members. With this, his aim is to allow more fairness for future elections.
From the beginning of his campaign, Bell said he ran for student body president because of his “desire to serve his fellow students and contribute to UVU’s mission of student success.”
By the end of this year, Bell, along with the rest of council, aims to turn these desires into reality.
