Hoping to build on the successes of the past year, the Student Association Assembly re-elected Hassan Shibly as chair on Monday.
Shibly, a freshman psychology major, defeated fellow Assembly member Matt Miller in a secret ballot election for the position.
After his victory, Shibly said he is looking forward to working hard next year to increase student involvement and tackle student issues.
"I encourage all students to get involved next year," Shibly said. "There's something for everyone in the SA, from being active in committees to getting involved with entertainment. It's for students by students."
Each candidate gave a brief speech before the vote, stressing the role the Assembly has played in their academic lives and promising to make the next year a successful one.
In his platform, Shibly drew from his experience as chair this year, explaining how his leadership helped reinvigorate the Assembly's image.
"We've taken this from a weak organization that was looked down on by the rest of Student Association to something strong," Shibly said.
Shibly touted the Assembly's successes during the past semester, including work on a parking proposal that aims to cut down on morning traffic next year.
Miller, a sophomore physics major, stressed his involvement as chair of the Assembly's student affairs committee.
The election results will not change his involvement with the Assembly, Miller said, and he still hopes "to build on what the Assembly can do, and increase new student involvement."
Assembly member Umair Farooqi said he was pleased with the election's outcome.
"I believe Hassan Shibly has done a great job. I know he's going to do a great job next year," Farooqi said.
As a freshman, Shibly has been involved with the Assembly since his first week at school, when, he said, he read about the group in Visions.
"It's been a great experience," Shibly said. "It's been a lot of work, but you make a lot of friends and learn a lot."
As chair, Shibly's job includes running Assembly meetings, attending SA Senate meetings and being involved with the SA finance committee.
"What people don't see is that before every meeting we do about ten hours of work," Shibly said. "We do a lot of research to find out which issues concern the students here at UB and what we can do to address them."
Shibly figures to play a larger role next year as SA president-elect Dela Yador has said he will increase the extent to which SA advocates for student concerns.
Shibly said a key goal for the Assembly next year will be to get more incoming freshmen involved in student politics. Other members agreed the key to the Assembly's success is student involvement.
"I feel that I have a responsibility to be involved," Farooqi said. "A lot of students are not always active politically, so it's my responsibility to represent them and their issues"
"People should get involved with SA," said Assembly member Ankur Khera. "It is worth it. You are representing about 20,000 undergrad students."
Khera also said he was happy with the election's outcome.
"I think he did a good job. I'm satisfied," Khera said.
Shibly said the "desire to make things better" is what motivates his involvement, and he plans to use this motivation to make the Assembly even stronger next year.
"I'm really glad the Assembly appreciated the work I've done. It's been a lot of hard work. This year was a learning year," Shibly said. "Things can only get better from here. We've formed better relationships with the Senate and the Student Association and we've addressed many different ideas and proposals from students."
Shibly said he plans to stay involved with SA for the rest of his time at UB and he urges others to do the same.
"The Assembly is here as a direct voice for the students, and they are encouraged to attend meetings and express their desires or concerns," he said.
