With a new semester comes many changes; especially, in most cases, to the Executive Board of the Bucknell Student Government (BSG).  For the next calendar year, the BSG Congress will be lead by President Mark Merino ’17, Vice President of Operations Nigel Ravida ’18 and Vice President of Administration Meghan Belinsky ’18. Merino, a Political Science and Spanish double major, recently returned from a semester abroad with the Bucknell en España program.

Merino is an active member of the Bucknell community. In addition to being an Residential Advisor on campus, he works with Bicycles Against Poverty and is a Posse Scholar from Los Angeles, California.  Despite his absence from the campus last semester, Merino is no stranger to BSG. In his first year, he served as Representative for the Class of 2017 and successfully planned many events including First Night and Fall Ball.  The following year, Merino represented his class as Vice President in addition to serving as the chair of the Public Committee. As chair, Merino was responsible for presiding over Homecoming and Parent’s Weekend giveaway events, Dunkin Donuts Idea Drives, and the famous finals week Fast Food Frenzy.

Former BSG President Alexandra Rosen ’16 said of Merino’s role as Public Committee Chair, “[Mark’s] leadership was incredible in this position because he brought the creativity out of everyone on that committee. A true leader is someone who engages everyone in the effort, and Mark certainly surpassed all expectations.” 

The President of BSG has many roles. Not only must he or she preside over the Executive Board and Congress, but he or she also serves as the face of the student body and acts as a liaison between BSG, faculty and administration.

“Mark is not only a skillfully eloquent leader, but also a genuine individual. He has the experience of a study abroad adventure under his belt, and I can only imagine how much that will benefit his perspective. Mark will be a strong and effective leader because his passion is at the root of everything he does,” said Rosen.

This semester, Merino aims to adjust the internal structure of BSG to optimize the potential of the governing body.  He said that he is looking forward to working with different student groups and organizations, as well as the BSG Congress “on continuing the campaign to address the campus attitude towards drinking, the realities of sexual assault and the necessity of raising campus awareness on the issue, and making sure that all students, regardless of how they personally identify, are feeling represented and safe on campus.”