Second-year student Emmet O’Hanlon is taking on a role that he hopes will engage the law school in the greater university community.
During a special election held by the USC Graduate and Professional Student Senate earlier this month to fill several vacancies on its executive board, O’Hanlon was elected Finance Chair.
“GPSS does so many things, and some of us at the law school didn’t really feel we were a part of it,” said O’Hanlon, who last year served as an officer on the Student Bar Association. “Having a greater voice in the executive board, we hope to address things that affect the law school community.”
SBA President Yem Mai, Academic Chair Mar Bauer and Vice President Marc Berman – who also is a GPSS senator – encouraged O’Hanlon to try for the spot, and actively campaigned on his behalf. O’Hanlon ran against three other graduate students for the seat on the 10-member executive board. Prior to the vote, he told the GPSS that “the three most important qualities in the finance chair are: the ability to stay organized; a commitment to student government; and an impartial and open mind.”
As finance chair, O’Hanlon oversees funding for graduate student events, heading weekly finance committee meetings and presenting to the GPSS Executive Board when funding requests exceed $1,000.
Each semester, graduate students pay a $30 student activities fee. At USC Law, roughly $10 of the total fee goes to the Student Bar Association; the remaining $20 goes to GPSS. The funds from all USC graduate and professional students work out to “a good chunk of change – it’s over $200,000,” O’Hanlon said.
Student groups seeking funds for volunteer activities or any event that brings graduate students together may contact O’Hanlon via e-mail. For more information on the GPSS, or for funding request forms, visit its web site.
Previous Article
