As president, Hanes will be responsible for overseeing the functions of ASMSU and revising internal structure for the efficiency of the organization come fall semester. After the beginning of the new school year, she will be serving as the student liaison in various administrative spaces, including the Board of Trustees, and will administer ASMSU meetings. She has promised to further student engagement and amplify student voices in administrative spaces.

Political science and human resources junior Anna Burk was re-elected to the position of vice president of finance and operations. The remaining positions within the Office of the President will be elected Wednesday and Thursday.

The body also approved its budget for the upcoming academic year, which is expected to be $1,194,430, funded by an increased student tax.

Hanes beat out political science sophomore Deonte Sparks for the presidency, though the margin of her victory is unclear since the election was conducted during a closed-door session. Sparks is running for the position of vice president of governmental affairs, which will be decided on Wednesday.

 The vice president of academic affairs will also be elected on Wednesday. On Thursday, the vice president of internal administration and the vice president of student allocations will be selected. 

“My end goal in pursuing this office is to refortify our organization to be both highly functional and deeply impactful for the students we have the privilege of serving,” Hanes said.

Hanes said her primary objectives as president would be establishing stronger administrative systems that ensure continuity, while also expanding efforts to be present for, engage with, and represent the diversity of the student body.

Hanes also emphasized improving ASMSU’s infrastructure and updating its code of conduct, which she called outdated and an impediment to serving the needs of the student body. She also noted the importance of establishing a working relationship with MSU’s administration and not shying away from respectful disagreements in order to advocate for students.

“We’re not in there, in the administrative spaces, to make friends, we’re in the administrative spaces to be a voice for students,” Hanes said.

Hanes also called the belief that ASMSU is not focused on representing students but rather supporting the professional interests of the president’s cabinet “horrible.” Hanes said she plans to engage more students in conversation during her term.

“Our student government should not feel inaccessible or painstakingly procedural, my interest in becoming president is to change that.” Hanes said.

Burk said she plans to use her second year as vice president of finance and operations to focus on marketing ASMSU services.

“I think this year during the lead up to elections, we definitely did (focus on marketing) but I think more consistent marketing of our services, especially SafeRide and legal services — just to make sure that even more students know about them,” Burk said.

Expanding SafeRide is a priority of hers, as well as exploring the potential of pursuing a partnership with Council of Graduate Students to expand the accessibility of the resource, possibly offering the during the summertime.