Tierney Cash

JMC 2033-003

Likely Major: Public Relations

Project Type: Magazine Feature

Target Audience: OU Crimson Quarterly Magazine

Sources:

PRIMARY

1. Expert source: Chris Firch - Christopher.B.Firch-1@ou.edu

2. Expert source: Emelie Schultz - Emelie.K.Schultz-1@ou.edu

3. Living-the-experience source: Hayden Wolfe - hayden.wolfe@ou.edu

4. Living-the-experience source: Lauren Roberts - Lauren.Roberts.1@ou.edu

SECONDARY

1. https://www.ou.edu/sga
 Let’s Go FAR!

For the newly elected student body president and vice president of the University

of Oklahoma (OU), three words comprised the foundation of their campaign: Foster, Amplify,

and Represent.

Christopher Firch ran with partner Emelie Schultz in the 2022 OU Student Government

Association (SGA) elections, and the duo won the student body’s vote for SGA president and

vice president. Firch created the FAR platform with three goals in mind: Foster the OU Family;

Amplify Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Represent Student Concerns.

Lauren Roberts, a junior Public Relations major at OU, supported Firch and Schultz’s

campaign because of those three goals.

“I think the FAR campaign was really inviting to me because whenever you looked at

their ideals it was everything that I stood for. It was inclusivity, it was fostering a community

where everyone has a voice, everyone feels heard,” Roberts said.

Roberts has known Firch since their freshman year at OU. She stated her belief that Firch

possesses the perfect qualities one would expect a leader to have.

“He makes every person feel like they’re the center of attention. If you’ve ever had an

interaction with him you will just feel like he knows you and he really does intentionally care,”

she explained.

While demonstrating the desired characteristics of a leader is important, it is also vital

that people in such positions, especially students, can manage their time properly. Since Firch

and Schultz are both full time students, taking on positions like student government president

and vice president will be very time consuming.

 Schultz was aware of the impact her vice presidential duties would have on her school

schedule. As a sophomore, however, she knew she would be able to dedicate more time to the

position than she would as a junior or senior.

“I would still want to do it,” Schultz said, “but I don’t know if I would have the time as a

dual-degree student.”

Schultz is an international student from Sweden studying Business Management and

Psychology. In connection with her business major, one of her aspirations as both a student and

vice president of the student body is to contribute to people in the OU community. Working with

people and through businesses or other organizations is a big passion of hers.

Like Schultz, Firch shared that sense of devotion to the OU community. As president, he

wants to focus on building relationships on campus.

“There’s a lot of miscommunication, a lot of distrust, with certain departments of

campus,” Firch said. “I honestly think a lot of these issues can be solved through relationships

with students.”

Both Firch and Schultz mentioned their visions of sharing a connection with the student

body. The relationship SGA is intended to have with OU students has seemingly weakened over

time. One of the main goals for the new 2023 SGA officers is to reestablish that relationship.

“I hope that when this term is over…more people have gotten a sense of what SGA wants

to do, but also that we have been able to bridge those gaps within the student body,” Schultz said.

The student body had a vision in mind for its future, and Firch and Schultz seemed to

match that vision. The pair is full of ideas and excitement for the upcoming year.
 Another supporter of the FAR campaign was OU sophomore and Computer Engineering

major Hayden Wolfe. Although Wolfe had just met Firch and Schultz at the start of the 2022 fall

semester, he already felt confident in their ability to lead the student body.

“I think that Chris and Emelie really wanted what’s best for this campus, and they had a

clear vision on how they wanted to enact their policies and improve campus,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe went on to describe the qualities he believed Firch and Schultz possessed that

would help them succeed in their newly elected positions.

“I think most of all they’re personable,” he said. “They are just really approachable and

look out for others. They’re considerate of other people which I think is going to help them try to

take care of everyone as opposed to just certain groups.”

While Firch and Schultz are ready to take on their new positions, the road ahead will not

always be easy. Representing the student body of a major university like OU can be a

challenging task. Firch shared his feelings on the subject and explained his hope that everything

will come into play as long as he focuses on the good of the students.

“Something I’m still navigating is that there are so many things I want to do, and

sometimes I get overwhelmed with problems and challenges,” he said. “One thing I’m learning is

just to go in as a good person and leave a positive impact. Because truthfully, if I can simply

empower students and give students a voice and even listening to them, that has such an impact.”

The 2023 Student Government Association Presidential Inauguration of Christopher

Firch & Emelie Schultz will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in the Beaird

Lounge of the Oklahoma Memorial Union located at 900 Asp Ave. in Norman, Okla.