Student Government President Martin Hursh, a junior in economics, and Vice President Quinn Margrett, a junior in business economics, have made progress on several of their campaign promises and seek to continue their work through the end of their term.

According to previous reporting by the Daily, their platform points were to:
- Hold a free concert for all students at Jack Trice Stadium
- Expand non-ISU Dining food options on campus
- Making prep week a “real break”
- Host a “know your leaders” town hall series
- Hold an international career fair
- Launch a roommate compatibility form
- Create a task force on food insecurity
- Submit feedback to the city by messaging the mayor
In an interview with the Daily, Hursh answered questions about all except the concert. Instead, Hursh provided the Daily with the Student Government February 2025 Progress Update which contained a brief statement about the concert within its 12 pages:
“Any first-of-its-kind initiative of this scale requires extensive work behind-the-scenes. Since May of 2024, Student Government has been doing just that. An announcement will be issued as soon as the details of the Campus Concert become public.”
It is unclear why the statement does not refer to the concert as free for all students or located at Jack Trice Stadium.
Also within the packet is a list of remaining events under Hursh’s term, which will last until early April barring reelection. Dates for ten events are listed, while one, the Annual Safety Walk, has a time, date, and place to be determined; however, a concert is not listed.
The expansion of dining options on campus was another platform point made. The Department of Dining, with the support of the Senate, opened a request for proposal (RFP) to bring a new dining vendor to the Memorial Union.
This RFP allows restaurants to submit bids, helping the university pinpoint the best vendor.
“We promise big things, and that’s a slow burn,” Hursh said. “It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort and anyone that’s been willing to talk with us about non-ISU dining food options on campus and within the Ames community, we have talked to them.”
During his campaign, Hursh promised to launch a food insecurity task force. The task force’s main achievements include “urging” the Department of Dining to broaden spring break and get-and-go dining options and staffing the Students Helping Our Peers (SHOP), a student-run food pantry on campus.
The recently launched parking ticket relief program has 45 students on the waitlist. The program offers relief of up to $60 in tickets once a year in exchange for volunteering at SHOP.
“It’s not just about creating these one-off volunteers for SHOP, but it’s about attracting people to new opportunities at Iowa State, and they get more engaged in the community and help support their peers,” Hursh said.
Another goal was the implementation of an international career fair. As a “first major step,” the Senate added signs at career fairs to help students identify employers willing to sponsor visas.
“We’re all here to get a job,” Hursh said. “To enable and support students in that endeavor is very important for us and so we’re very proud of that.”
The Know Your Leaders Town Hall Series begins Tuesday with representatives from the Iowa State Police Department. Another campaign promise, the forums will “connect students with key decision-makers on campus, enabling students to ask honest questions and engage directly with panelists in real-time.”
An additional point in the platform of Hursh and Margretts is a proposed amendment to prep week in the faculty handbook.
“There’s a preconception that [during] prep week, you’re actually going to have a break, you’re going to have an opportunity to actually study,” Margrett said. “In our experience and many students’ experience, that’s not really the case.”
“No in-class quizzes or exams may be given on the Thursday and Friday of Prep Week,” the handbook states.
The amendment seeks to extend the restriction on quizzes and exams to cover the entire week. The Academic Admissions and Standards Subcommittee is considering the amendment and will be sent to the Faculty Senate for a first and second reading, “likely in March or April,” Margrett said.
Margrett said the accomplishments from the past semester have been “impactful.”
“Just being able to point to specific things that our team and I have been working on that actually is going to concretely make [student’s] lives better,” Margrett said.
Hursh emphasized that these projects have been a student government-wide effort, and called his role as president as the “honor of a lifetime.”
“We have been going at this with what feels like 100% effort since January of last year,” Hursh said. “I’m super proud of all the members we have in our organization and their commitment to serving Iowa State University.”