Vote He for BBA Council President

For their next Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Council President, BBA students should turn to Michelle He (22B). Beyond her passion for creating tangible change and connecting students with BBA council members, He’s legislative experience and deep engagement within Emory University’s Goizueta Business School establishes her as a competent and thoughtful leader.

Her active observation of BBA student issues inspired her to run for the position, and it shows in He’s background. Through her work in the Goizueta Business School’s Career Management Center and as the BBA council representative in the Student Government Association’s (SGA) BBA council representative this year, she has learned to work both within and between student government organizations. Her past presidency in Emory Business Ethics and current president in Emory Entrepreneurship and Venture Management, solidifies her knowledge of the BBA experience. Her background is almost ideal for the position.

Her platform is nearly as well-fitted. At the forefront of He’s platform is acknowledging and bridging the communication gap between the numerous administrative organs of the business school. Because Career Management, BBA Programming and BBA Council branches are so independent, many students have difficulty navigating the wealth of resources available to them. To resolve that, He wants to create an accessible and cohesive website that presents all BBA resources in one place, including recruiting programs and other valuable resources. Contrary to popular belief, He explained in an interview with the Wheel, the BBA Council is responsible for hosting far more than just Kegs; expanding the accessibility of the business school’s unparalleled resources will facilitate student achievement and improve equity.

Moreover, He’s confidence to stand her ground during contentious legislative battles and active desire to improve communication, for which her capacity is evident in her cross-council work while BBA council representative in the SGA legislature, will make her the strong advocate the BBA student body needs. For instance, He told the Wheel in an interview that during a fall 2018 audit, she found that the nursing and business schools received the same amount of money from the Student Activity Fee (SAF), even though there were approximately 300 more BBA students than nursing students at the time. He plans to explore and advocate for more equitable ways to divide the SAF.

He also wants to make the Council’s deliberations more accessible and transparent. Currently, council meetings are neither recorded nor well-publicized. To remedy that, He will publish council records, host open forums and hold office hours to ensure that she and her colleagues can hear all students’ concerns. She also intends to create a consolidated Google Calendar so that students can remain aware of the events and academic resources at their disposal.

We are most impressed by He’s nuanced perspective on expanding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the business school. She acknowledges that diversity is one of the business school’s most serious problems. Not only does she aim to create a new vice president of DEI position on the BBA Council, to prioritize diversity, she also plans to recommend mandatory implicit bias training for business school clubs, DEI workshops and launch a Goizueta Diversity and Inclusion Summit. Though these are plausible and detailed plans, these measures are only limited to those willing to attend the dialogue and may not be able to encapsulate the extent to which the diversity issues need to be solved. More promisingly, she also states she will actively work to connect Black, Indigenous and people of color BBA students with relevant leadership and diversity programs at corporations to make sure they feel welcomed when they enter the workforce.

He’s campaign is thorough and engages not only the student body, but also clubs, student organizations and administrators to fulfill her promises. If elected, she hopes to update the BBA constitution to adjust to COVID-19, expedite new club charters and reimagine BBA traditions to minimize stagnation. He’s business and political savvy will allow her to fulfill her dreams to act in students’ best interests. So if you are a BBA student, vote He for BBA Council president this week. There’s no one better suited for the job.

The above editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is composed of Sahar Al-Gazzali, Viviana Barreto, Rachel Broun, Jake Busch, Sara Khan, Martin Shane Li, Sophia Ling, Demetrios Mammas, Meredith McKelvey, Sara Perez, Leah Woldai, Lynnea Zhang and Yun Zhu.