Eight years of ASMSU: Student government presidents mostly Madison
October 11, 2023 - Beth Brauer and Claire Smith (SRP '25)
Since its founding in 1965, the Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, the university’s undergraduate student government, has been advocating on behalf of the undergraduate student population. Its mission to strengthen student experiences through education, empowerment and advocacy is felt by Spartans today and during some of the most trying times in the university’s history.
The organization employs approximately 75 students, six of whom are elected positions and includes more than 220 members.
To say that James Madison College, the university’s residential college for international relations and public affairs, is well represented in the organization, would be an understatement. For the 2023-24 academic year, three of the six elected Office of the President positions are held by JMC students.
“When hiring students, we do not ask them to record their majors and minor,” said Benjamin Fox, ASMSU chief of staff and a junior majoring in political theory and constitutional democracy. “However, more than half of ASMSU members are JMC students.”
Not bad for a college with about 1,000 students.
The impact of a JMC education emanates through the university from its student leadership as the Office of the President has been seated by a JMC student for seven of the past eight years.
ASMSU leaders have weathered a storm of crises the last eight years. Their fortitude is evident in everything they've accomplished during their time in office. From assisting students in financial distress during the pandemic to pushing for academic supports, programming, and safety reforms on campus in the wake of the February 13, 2023 tragedy, ASMSU leadership continues to be instrumental in implementing change across campus. The following Spartans have been the voice of Michigan State’s undergraduate community for the last eight years.
Lorenzo Santavicca (IR '18)
Step back as much as you step up and empower leadership in others who may not see it in themselves.”
Lorenzo Santavicca was the president of ASMSU for two consecutive years, from 2016 to 2018. Graduating with a degree in international relations from James Madison College, Santavicca went on to pursue his master’s degree in information security and privacy at the University of Texas, Austin. He credits his experience as ASMSU president with giving him the ‘leg up’ to successfully navigate an organization like Google, where he is a privacy program manager for Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google. Santavicca shares more about his time as ASMSU president and the JMC professor who was most influential to his student experience in an alumnus spotlight.
Katherine Rifiotis Slivensky (PTCD '19)
Check that what you or others are advancing will truly solve the issue at hand. This may require thinking deeply about your motivations and challenging your assumptions, but you will always be better off for engaging in this inquiry.”
JMC Alumna Katherine “Cookie” Rifiotis earned her degree in political theory and constitutional democracy in 2019. She served as ASMSU president during the 2018-19 academic year, the same year survivors of Nassar came forward publicly. Acknowledging the challenges she faced during that time, Rifiotis Slivensky says she is especially grateful to have had Eric Petrie, associate professor in JMC, to confide in. “Professor Petrie helped me reckon with my limitations while also empowering me to be the best student leader I could be.” In a recent alumna spotlight, Rifiotis Slivenskey shares advice for current students and how her experiences both in JMC and ASMSU prepared her for where she is today: law school at the University of Michigan.
Mario Kakos (Political Science '20)
Mario Kakos majored in political science in the College of Social Science. He served as ASMSU president during the 2019-20 academic year, graduating in 2020, and currently works for Google.
Abii-Tah Bih (IR & CCP '21)
JMC changed my life…. I emerged confident in my own agency, originality and ability to rally a strong network to steer the world in more equitable directions.”
Abii-Tah Bih (IR & CCP ’21) double majored in international relations, and comparative cultures and politics in James Madison College. Bih served as president during the onset of the pandemic from 2020-21. She is pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge and says her experiences at MSU "cemented the foundation" for her research. In an alumna spotlight, Bih describes how her time as ASMSU president during the height of the pandemic and the experiential learning opportunities provided by the Madison Diversity Leadership Program have been transformative in shaping who she is today and the work she pursues in the future.
Georgia Frost (PTCD & IR '22)
I became educated in what the scholars in my field thought, sure, but I was equally encouraged to question them and push the discourse further.”
Georgia Frost graduated with a degree in political theory and constitutional democracy, and international relations. Serving as ASMSU president taught Frost that leadership can come from anywhere and that a title is not needed. She credits her JMC education for pushing her to be the critical thinker she is today and “that we always have more than the cards we’re dealt.” Frost shares more about her time as ASMSU president and the professor who was most influential in an alumna spotlight.
Jo Kovach (SRP '23)
Sometimes there is not a rule book or guide on what to do, but so long as you lead with empathy and compassion for others, you cannot go very wrong.”
Jo Kovach (they/them) graduated from JMC with a degree in social relations and policy in 2023. They served as ASMSU president from 2022-23, and currently resides in Washington D.C. where they are working for Everytown for Gun Safety in the State Government Affairs Department. Kovach was inspired to continue advocating for gun reform following the events of February 13, 2023. Kovach shares more about their experience as ASMSU president, advocating for students and developing programs to help campus heal as well as the JMC professor who was most influential to their college experience in an alumnus spotlight.
Emily Hoyumpa (SRP '24)
Madison has prepared me in so many different ways for the ASMSU presidency. I've not only learned how to connect with others...but also the value of being an inquirer...”
Emily Hoympa is the current ASMSU president. She is a third-year student majoring in social relations and policy with an anticipated graduation date of May 2024. Hoyumpa shares how her Madison education prepared her for the work she’s doing as president and what inspired her to run in a recent student spotlight.