Derek Grosso doesn’t have much time on his hands.

He’s a varsity cheerleader, a Student Association senator, a 1999 Colonial Cabinet member and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity vice president.

He plays club lacrosse, sings with the University Singers and advises first-year students in the School of Business and Public Management.

He also wants to be the SA’s executive vice president.

“I like to be active on campus,” Grosso said. “I like to do as much as I can to get myself acquainted with the University.”

The sophomore from Glen Cove, N.Y., has spent a year representing business school students in the SA Senate, and he’s seen what’s good about the Senate – and what could use improvement.

“I just don’t think it’s about politics – it shouldn’t be,” Grosso said. “I think we should get away from the whole political aspect.”

In his campaign for the SA’s second-highest spot, Grosso said he is looking for a way to take the organization to the next level.

“I want to make the SA something where people say, `It’s not elitist, it’s not political,'” Grosso said.

“It’s there so that everyone can be a part of it . if you make the SA something that will attract people, people will want to be involved,” he said.

As a member of the Senate’s Finance Committee, Grosso has been involved firsthand with what many students find most frustrating about the SA – student group financial allocations.

His goal, if he is elected, is to personalize the process by creating a system of liaisons between the Senate and student groups.

The idea – which he calls SAFE or Student Association Financial Evaluators – would make each senator a liaison between a handful of organizations and the Senate Finance Committee.

“Having a liaison to the committee would make the process less intimidating,” Grosso said. “Instead of being one on seven, it would be one on one.”

Grosso knows from experience the allocation process can be a long, grueling endeavor. Last December, the Senate held a six-hour emergency meeting to tweak the finance bill. The legislation’s sponsors couldn’t muster enough votes to pass it, so Grosso and other Finance Committee members put their heads together to come up with changes on which everyone could agree.

“You’re thinking about all these other things; I mean, I had to pack – I was leaving for home the next day,” Grosso said. “But then you say, `You know what, this is my job. This is what I need to do.'”

Hometown: Glen Cove, N.Y.
Major: Business management
Year: Sophomore
Credentials: SA undergraduate senator; vice president, Lambda Chi Alpha; varsity cheerleader; member, University Singers

“I want to make the SA something where people say `It’s not elitist, it’s not political.’ I just don’t think it’s about politics – it shouldn’t be.”