It was announced Thursday night; Antonio Cosme will be Eastern Michigan University’s new student body president.
Cosme along with running-mate Muayad Mahmoud garnered 624 votes or about 80 percent of the votes.
The total number of votes cast was 782, only roughly 3 percent of the student body population.
This number is down compared to 1,827 students that voted in last year’s election.
One of Cosme’s goals is to increase awareness and interest in student government. He wants to hire individuals for marketing positions.
“We’re trying to get people participating and aware,” Cosme said.
Cosme was excited when he found out he had won the election.
“We were very happy,” he said. Cosme’s feelings of happiness quickly transitioned to figuring the next effective steps to take in making EMU better.
“It was a moment of strategizing and being analytical in terms of what we need to do to get the things we want done,” he said.
A pressing issue the duo wants to handle is academic advising. Cosme believes there is room for improvement in the department.
“One thing that we discussed a lot is academic advising,” he said. “It is a huge problem on campus. Students recognize that as a huge problem. That’s something we definitely want to tackle.”
They also have short-term goals they plan to address such as finding an executive board.
“That’s the number one short-term goal right now,” Cosme said. “We need to hire our executive board. We try to do this internally within student government and it’s very important to keep it fresh.”
Another issue they plan to handle is the increasing rates of tuition. Cosme has participated in the University Budget Council meetings to advocate for low tuition increases.
The pair has developed a “diversity initiative” that is still in the works. Cosme and Mahmoud have advocated for diversity on campus. Cosme has worked with the Latino Student Association to bring awareness to various issues the Latino community faces in college and the United States.
Mahmoud has worked with the Muslim Student Association and highlighted problems Muslims face in the American culture and the world.
Cosme helped organize the recent rally in Lansing that took place Thursday. He thinks it is imperative for students to get involved in the protest against cuts to higher education.
“It is something that is absolutely fundamental in the fight for higher education funding right now,” he said. “There will be another protest next year.”
Cosme wants the student body to be assured the person they voted for will get the job done.
“We have a lot of things that we’re trying to do and I’m not a person that’s going to sit here and talk it up,” he said. “I’m about action.”
