Although new Student Government Association President Latham Saddler and Vice President Ginny Barton took the oath of office Tuesday, they did not wait for the ceremony to set their platform in action.

“I feel very good because we have already gotten on the ball,” Saddler said.

Interviews for executive board positions began only a few short days after winning the election on Feb. 13. Out of all of the senators that won in the election, about 20 have interviewed for positions on the board, Barton said.

“All the people that won are top-notch,” she said. “You would be happy to have any of them.”

After the board is established, each item on their platform will fall under a committee. The committees are organized to work on multiple issues simultaneously.

“Prioritizing isn’t really going to be an issue,” Saddler said. “We are going to start tackling them as soon as possible.”

A major issue on their platform is to work with minority recruitment and retention.

“This past year there were only 40 African-American men in the incoming freshmen class who weren’t athletes,” Barton said. “That’s ridiculous.”

To help increase minority numbers, Saddler and Barton plan to alter an existing SGA-sponsored scholarship that is available only to Athens-Clarke County students. They want to make it available to minority students statewide.

Saddler and Barton also want to begin an organization that connects administrators and student leaders to African-American freshmen.

The purpose of the organization is to improve the academic and social experience by allowing the students to meet with role models already familiar with the University, Barton said.

“At the end of their first year, hopefully we will have retained more African-American first year students,” she said.

Another item on their platform is to establish a pass/fail introduction to the University elective available for all freshmen, UGA 1101. It will be offered to students to help prepare for life at the University for one hour of credit.

One campaign issue, however, cannot go into effect during Saddler’s term.

They said they wanted to begin a roommate matching program for incoming freshmen, but housing plans for the fall semester already are in place. They plan to continue work on the project so that students can benefit from it after their term ends next year.

Other issues Saddler and Barton plan to work on include extending library and OASIS hours and establishing a non-alcoholic tailgate with the football team.

Previous SGA President Sachin Varghese worked with both Saddler and Barton on the SGA Freshmen Board.

“They have got all they need to hit the ground running,” Varghese said.

“Everything is falling into place perfectly,” Saddler said. “Now we just got to get it done. To be honest, I’m really excited.”