Just hours before U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the nation at the annual State of the Union address, the College of William and Mary’s Class of 2014’s class officers delivered their first annual State of the Class address Tuesday night at the Sadler Center. College President Taylor Reveley served as master of ceremonies for the event.
“In my experience, leaders do matter,” Reveley said in his opening speech. “If you want something to get done, you can’t get it done without a leader. Leadership is important to the class, the College and the country.”
After Reveley’s remarks, members of the executive addressed a variety of topics including the economic state of the treasury and the class’s diversity. Megan McCarthy ’14, the vice president of social affairs, led off by delivering one of the biggest announcements of the evening, stating that the Class of 2014 will host a freshman formal April 2.
Treasurer Brett Prestia ’14 followed McCarthy with his interpretation of the treasury’s condition, announcing that the state of the treasury is improving.
“It was hard, but events like the sunglasses fundraiser and the class book sale helped to grow a tree of money for us,” Prestia said. “Still, we are in a minor economic drought, so the best advice I can give you is to buy, buy, buy all things 2014, and to come out and support our events.”
Student Assembly Sen. Matt Paganussi ’14, Vice President of Advocacy Alex Comerford ’14 and Secretary Taylor Feenstra ’14 also delivered speeches. Each firmly stated that their main objective is to involve more people in the decisions that are being made. According to the representatives, the respective committees for advocacy, philanthropy and finance have been very active, but their goal remains to get more people involved in the affairs of the class.
“We all have a common goal to represent the Class of 2014, and we will continue to ensure that we represent you,” Paganussi said. “We are glad to say that the gap between the students and the assembly is getting smaller and smaller.”
The final speaker of the night was Class of 2014 President Jake Schneider ’14. He began by stating that, statistically speaking, the class was one of the College’s best and most diverse ever. As a result of this, and the work of the SA, Schneider proudly announced that the state of the class is strong. He said that he will work to strengthen the class with further fundraisers and service opportunities.
“I’m not perfect, but I have done my best and will continue to do my best for you,” Schneider said. “Stay classy, 2014.”
After Schneider’s speech, the executive took questions from the audience in, according to Reveley, “the grand tradition of the British Parliament,” and guests were later invited to watch Obama’s State of the Union address.