Undergraduate Student Government President Bobby McAlpine (left) and newly elected Vice President Justin Robinson (right) stand in front of a USG poster. Credit: Madison Wallace | Lantern Reporter
Politics has no place in the 57th Assembly of Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government, more commonly known as USG — at least to its new and returning leaders.
USG incumbent President Bobby McAlpine and newly elected Vice President Justin Robinson said they aren’t interested in their titles’ prestige, but rather in how they use their leadership positions to amplify the voices of the 60,000 students they represent. Through focus groups, community engagement, student outreach and even a mechanical bull, McAlpine said the chief executives seek to achieve one goal: bridging the gap between students and the people who represent them.
McAlpine, a fifth-year in regional planning and political science, said the campaign slogan, “bridging the gap,” has been a core component of his mission as president since he first stepped into the role alongside former Vice President Madison Mason last year.
“Every single decision that we make, we want to make sure that we’re basing it on student voices, student experiences,” McAlpine said. “We just want to be the people that are there for the student body, that are listening to them, and then are advocating for them and bringing their voices with us.”
For their final year at Ohio State, McAlpine said he and Robinson will continue to expand on three major initiatives: campus safety, mental health resources and “meeting students where they’re at.”
“[Robinson] and I want to expand the overall definition of what safety means,” McAlpine said. “Safety is, of course, making sure that you’re not worried that you’re going to get robbed walking home, but also just feeling safe, to be able to go to somebody — feeling safe enough here on this campus to reach out to a counselor, reach out to a friend, reach out to another student organization, to find that community.”
During his third year at Ohio State, McAlpine experienced immense grief when his close friend struggled with mental health and died by suicide. McAlpine — who said he helped initiate the first campus-wide free teletherapy program in his first semester as president — said he continuously strives for an on-campus community that feels safe to exist and learn in.
“I want to do all I can and do as much work as I can to make sure that no one in the student body — or really anywhere, but especially no Buckeye — would feel that forgotten and that alone,” McAlpine said.
The pair said their newest initiatives for the semester include partnering with the Wall Street Journal to give students free subscriptions, expanding on free teletherapy programs and highlighting focus groups as a way to hear students’ authentic opinions.
“We were on the hiring committee for the new police chief, and we really wanted students’ feedback,” Robinson said. “The police chief runs our campus, so we started this focus group to make sure that when students are protesting, when they are expressing themselves, the new chief will know how to go about handling it the right way.”
According to McAlpine, legislative bodies can occasionally fall into a “silo,” which is a system or process that operates in isolation from others. He said silos can be prevented by ushering in fresh perspectives and new ideas, a belief that prompted him to choose Robinson — a fifth-year in strategic communication — as his running mate.
McAlpine said Robinson’s care for the student body, paired with his distinct ability to confidently approach university officials with students’ concerns, made him an ideal partner.
“When President Carter first came, [Robinson] went directly up to him and said, ‘Hi, nice to meet you. I really hope that you are able to truly listen to students,’” McAlpine said. “[Robinson] has really pushed the boundaries for the student government, and he’s really making changes in a meaningful way that a lot of people don’t think about.”
Robinson, also a peer leader for the Young Scholars Program and McAlpine’s Phi Beta Sigma fraternity brother, said his gratitude toward Ohio State and his campus community inspired him to take on the vice president role.
“I give back wherever I can because I wouldn’t be here without their support,” Robinson said. “I wouldn’t know what to do with the leadership qualities I have if it wasn’t for stepping out of my comfort zone and saying yes to being the voice for such an amazing group of students.”
In order to meet the needs of the largest incoming first-year group in university history — per prior Lantern reporting — McAlpine and Robinson said they spent the first weeks of the semester meeting new students to better the relationship between USG and the student body.
“We want to do big initiatives and meet students where they’re at, so we were a big contributor to Buck-i-Frenzy,” McAlpine said.
Buck-i-Frenzy, a widely popular Welcome Week event, featured an ice cream truck and mechanical bull sponsored by USG, capturing the attention of over 200 students who subsequently signed up to learn more about the organization.
“We want to do more things like this, that get students involved and show them who we are,” Robinson said.
Students can find more information on new USG initiatives and ways to contact their representatives on USG’s website.
