Meet the New Coordinator of Clubs & Organizations

By Summer Tyler

Victor Vyssotski during a PSGA E-Board meeting. (Photo by Alex Del Cueto)

Victor Vyssotski, a junior economics and math and computer science major, currently serves as the president of the Economics Club and is the finance coordinator for the Purchase Student Government Association (PSGA).

With a strong commitment to the Economics Club, they are determined to blend academics with enjoyable campus events. Next semester, they will take on the role of Coordinator of Clubs and Organizations (COCOS), a position for which they are well-prepared. Vyssotski is from Westchester County, New York, and is eager to make a positive impact on campus.

What are the COCOS meeting's objectives?

Every Wednesday, we would go to the council for Clubs and Organizations. For every club that wants to make a request from the major COCOS fund, every year, there is some of the budget allocated for clubs and organizations to request from. As counsel of all the clubs and organizations that show up, we get to vote on presentations that people bring in. For example, the econ [economics] club might make a presentation saying, "Hey everybody, we want a certain amount of money for this event we have coming up in a few weeks. Are you guys willing to share some of the COCOS funds with us to make this event happen?" The COCOS's job is to facilitate the voting process. I would not be a voting member, so I would just be chairing the council. I have experience on the voting side, looking at what people's budgets are, and I'm excited to be on the chair side of this as well.

What do you have planned for next semester?

I just wanna keep the stability that Madison [Valdez, the current COCOS] already has. I would like to try to get more unified participation from clubs because you have a lot of clubs that do solo events. What Madison has started trying to implement is COCOS, which runs not only the council but also the Steering Committee. They do events that can involve a lot of the clubs. I want to create more incentives for COCOS to want to participate in these events. At the moment, it comes out of the club's budget. In the most recent Steering event, only two or three clubs participated and brought something… I'm willing to give up some of the budget allocated to Cocos to help with that. That's something I'd be interested in putting together.

What are some of your methods for problem-solving within COCOS?

At COCOS, my big thing is that we're all a part of the PSGA, we all want to get to the same

goal. We're all on the same team. It's not this club against another club or one club against the COCOS Rep [Representative]. We all want to make a better environment for Purchase students, as long as we can keep in mind that all events should be available to everybody who is paying the MSAF [Mandatory Student Activities Fee]. I think we can find common ground there and cooperate in that way. My job is to be a reminding person to keep it cool and keep it chill. No one wants to deal with problems. No one wants to have fights within their clubs.

`Why was it important for you to get involved with the PSGA?

Getting involved helps others, but I feel like it also broadens my own horizons. I myself really like getting involved. It makes me feel like I'm making a difference. I get to see all the different clubs and events happening on campus that I never would have considered. There's a Karnival event happening, I think SOCA [Students of Caribbean Ancestry] and a few other clubs are working to put that together. I get to see what the math/comp sci [computer science] club does and what CAPES [Creative Artists Producing Epic Stories] is doing, and have an idea that every weekend, there's always something going on. There are events at the gym, there are events at the VA [Visual Arts], Humanities; almost every place on campus has something to do if you're bored. I think that's a good way to destress aside from academics. I think getting involved, for anybody, is a good idea; it helps liven up your college life. As COCOS Rep, I can help with that by making it easier for clubs to start events.

The PSGA E-Board members listening during a meeting inside the PSGA Office Conference Room (from left to right) Victor Vyssotski, Bella Pizza and Marshall Vargas. (Photo by Alex Del Cueto)

Could communication between clubs and PSGA be better?

Definitely. There are a lot of situations where either new clubs or clubs that haven't been active, or clubs that haven't been introduced to newer processes. As E-Board [Executive Board], we have to be prepared to teach new software and advise clubs. When I was vice president of the econ club, there were some things I didn't know about until I got where I am now. I feel I have a much deeper understanding of how funding works, how cash advances work, purchase requests, and everything that a club needs to function. I want to present that to clubs, whether they're new club heads or old club heads, and we get to do that at the retreat that we have every semester before academics start. That's a day where clubs can learn how to run their items.

What is the Econ Club? What are your main objectives?

Our main objective is to not only provide an academic support environment but also

incorporate academics into fun events. We work in tandem with the economics department. We have a club room where we hold tutoring and review sessions. We do movie nights to watch documentaries or films that have big economic concepts in them. We invite students from the economics department and beyond. People who are taking economics credits can get extra bonus points on their exams for coming to our events. Every semester, we do a chess tournament, and we do a casino game night. While people don't immediately think that they're economics-related, they have to do with the concept of game theory, which is a section of economics that explores the scarcity and decision-making that goes into games.

Do you think you could use skills you've learned from working in the PSGA for jobs beyond college?

As an E-board member of the Economics Club, I had to figure out how to fund all these things, how to organize people, how to get people to register and show up. I think those kinds of experiences can really help where I am now, being the COCOS Rep. In terms of jobs beyond college, Pell Wealth Partners, I work there currently. There's been a merger, it is now called Rise Private Wealth Management. I work in operations there, and I intend to work there after college. A lot of the finance stuff I've been doing, and a lot of the math, Excel, and crunching numbers that really appeal to me on the PSGA, I plan to bring with me into my job after college.

What are you looking forward to most next semester?

Once I become the COCOS, I want to make sure there is a more solid relationship between

finance and clubs, because sometimes communication can get mixed up. Maybe having finance be at a few COCOS meetings so they can see what's being presented and what's going on. I want to have a record of different clubs and presentations, taking notes, and taking minutes. This is what I wanna do to make sure things stay in line. I myself like organization, and it's important to me to make sure all the numbers line up; it makes things go smoothly.