President: Austin Prentice 
1. What are you most excited about for the 2011-2012 school year?
Although the Centennial Celebration and the George Bush Presidential Library construction are exciting, they both take a back seat to the upcoming football season. I am most excited about traveling down to College Station for SMU’s first football game against Texas A&M. This is the year SMU over-performs in all realms of athletics – beginning with football in the fall.
2. What do you hope to accomplish as President?
As President, I hope to continue the indescribable momentum that SMU has generated over the past few years. The quality of life for each and every student is high, but I would like to continue taking the overall college experience to the next level. These improvements are tangible goals that will have lasting impact. Extending library hours around campus, creating more specificity in Park-N-Pony parking passes, and adding a reading day mandate are three issues that I will begin my Presidency exploring.
3. List campus activities, extracurricular activities, etc. that you are involved in.
I have tried to take a very diverse approach to leadership and involvement at SMU. My diversity in campus involvement and leadership activities have allowed me to meet countless peers that I would not have otherwise had the privilege of meeting. I serve with One28 Campus Ministry, sit on countless committees impacting SMU’s decision making, and attend College Republicans. This list has definitely slimed back since my first year on campus, but I am proud to say being Student Body President is my first and foremost involvement.
4. Major, Year in School and future career goals.
I am a Political Science and Biology double major entering my senior year at SMU. Upon graduation in May, I hope to utilize the Political Science background by working in Washington D.C.
5. Life motto:
No one knows what he can do until he tries.
6. Any advice for incoming freshman?
My advice for incoming students revolves around getting involved. Instead of taking an extended period of time to figure everything out, jump in from the beginning, let your fresh ideas be heard and meet friends along the way. Take advantage of the opportunity that being a student at SMU entails. This is the best time to attend the greatest university in the country. Believe it, buy into it, and leave SMU a better university than when found it! God Bless & Pony Up!
Vice-President: Alex Ehmke 
1. What are you most excited about for the 2011-2012 school year?
Personally, I’m most excited about graduation and applying to law schools, but for SMU as a whole I’m really looking forward to another season of Mustang Football – I can’t wait for this program to be built back to it’s former glory.
2. What do you hope to accomplish as VP?
I hope to keep open lines of communication with the student body in order to address issues as they come up. More specifically, I intend to proactively improve the system professor evaluations and fold graduation fees back into tuition.
3. List campus activities, extracurricular activities, etc. that you are involved in.
Resident Assistant
Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity president
Phi Beta Kappa
Vickery Meadow Volunteer with Catholic Charities
Maguire Center for Ethics and Responsibility Advisory Board
4. Major, Year in School and future career goals.
Political Science, Public Policy, Economics
Senior, hoping to attend law school immediately following graduation.
5. Life motto:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
6. Any advice for incoming freshman?
Branch out. Join student organizations even if they don’t fit your interests perfectly. College is a great opportunity to learn more about areas of life you have never before encountered and to take on new challenges. Don’t pigeonhole yourself.
Secretary: Martha Pool 
1. What are you most excited about for the 2011-2012 school year?
Everything!!! From the work we hope to accomplish in Student Senate, to continuing SMU’s Centennial Celebration, to football games and pep rallies, to learning new things with amazing professors, to intramurals games, to finding new ways to get involved and give back to the community, to the visiting dignitaries and celebrities, to meeting new friends as well as becoming better friends with the old…I am so excited about almost every aspect of the upcoming school year and can hardly wait for school to start!!!
2. What do you hope to accomplish as Secretary?
My goals for the upcoming year include continuing the work that I have already started, especially addressing the needs and concerns of various underrepresented communities on campus. I plan to increase effective communication between Student Senate, the SMU student body, and administration, and to advance organization and efficiency within Senate. I will do my best to support both student organizations and individuals, promote campus unity and school spirit and remain open to any and all suggestions that the student body or administration have for making a great school even better. I also plan to work together with the other student body officers, senators, and committee chairs to accomplish a lot of god for our university, including petitioning for more reading days, a la carte parking passes, earlier syllabi, a higher percentage of scholarships that grow proportional to the increases in our school’s cost of attendance, and increased campus safety. In short, my goal is to make a great school even better.
3. List campus activities, extracurriculars, etc. that you are involved in.
Student Body Secretary
Finance Chair, SMU Political Science Symposium
Peruna Handler
ESL Volunteer
Intramurals
Ballroom Dance Club
4. Major, Year in School and future career goals.
Accounting & political science
Sophomore
Right now, I plan to finish my MSA and become certified as a CPA following completion of my undergraduate degree. I hope to attend law school after that and eventually work for the FBI, become a JAG officer, or something along those lines.
5. Life motto:
I have had many life mottoes over the years that have seemed to fit where I was in life during that period of time. The current one is borrowed from Helen Keller:
“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
6. Any advice for incoming freshman?
Pick classes that you are genuinely interested in and will be challenging to you; don’t just look for easy ones because boring classes can actually be worse than difficult ones. Learn good time management, and take advantage of the resources that SMU has provided to get students off to a good start. Get to know your professors during office hours – they’re some of the most amazing people you’ll ever meet. Get involved on campus; don’t just stay in your room for four years. Make new friends, try new things, and have fun responsibly.
Oh, and feel free to call or email me if you ever need any advice on how to make the most of your freshman year – having been a freshman myself just last year, I have some tips that I’d be more than happy to pass along!
Hilltop Politics 