To the Undergraduate Student Body:

The past month has been a difficult period for the Undergraduate Student Government, culminating in the removal of our President. The process of impeachment and removal was emotional and painful, but we have learned one essential truth from this process: it works. The process, never put to the test before, worked. The Undergraduate Student Government is growing everyday, becoming stronger, as it should as an organization that is less than five years old. We must and will move forward from this event. And as we move forward, let us remember what the Undergraduate Student Government is about, our organization was created, as our own Constitution states, ‘to foster a spirit of community, diversity and fellowship’hellip;’

We are a diverse group of people; on the surface we have nothing more in common with each other than our status as college students. But we know that we have more in common than that. Each one of us strives to make our campus a better, more fun, more enriching place to be. And each one of us strives to do that well and with honor. We are similar in that we all hold ethics and tolerance above all other principles. We are diverse, but we are not unalike. We will recover from this and carry on. And as we carry on, let us not forget that this year has seen some incredible victories for the Undergraduate Student Government.

We have seen the implementation of a comprehensive tutoring program – completely free to all undergraduate students, we have subsidized the cost of Long Island Rail Road tickets – making it affordable for students to enjoy one of the greatest cities in the world, we hosted a lecture from world-class athlete and role model Tiki Barber, and we have brought headlining music acts Ne-Yo and Gym Class Heroes to Stony Brook. For the first time in years, we are making use of our voices on University-wide committees and councils, and are finally beginning to bridge the gap between the students and the administration.

We are not without flaw, we have made mistakes and may continue to make them. But we have taken important steps towards real efficiency, and along the way have made great improvements to student life. Let this be our legacy. Let us take what we have done and what we have learned this year and build onwards and upwards.

Signed,

The Undergraduate Student Government