Members of the Associated Student Government Executive Board members organized a series of new projects during their summer vacation and said they would use the first months of the school year to move forward with the initiatives they campaigned on last spring.

The winter activities fair, an idea developed by Executive Vice President Jay Schumacher would give freshmen a quarter to adjust to campus before joining groups.

“Freshmen can be a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the year,”Schumacher said.

Events occurring in the first weeks of school were also planned over the summer, such as the Sept. 23 Activities Fair.

The fair will feature about 50 more groups than last year, and is part of Schumacher’s effort to help student groups communicate better with each other, ASG and the student body, he said.

Schumacher, a Communication junior, also worked on plans for student group newsletters and roundtables to discuss topics such as networking and fundraising.

The winter activities fair will help groups attract freshmen who didn’t want to make the commitment in the fall.

Academic Vice President Jason Downs, a Weinberg senior, said another focus will be recruiting students to non-senatorial positions, after a vote last spring cut the number of senators almost in half.

Non-senate members are involved in committees and can introduce legislation but cannot vote.

Student Services Vice President Whitney Gretz said her priority is planning a summer internship grant program.

The program would use connections with alumni to create more internships in non-traditional fields, and provide grants for internships at places such as non-profit organizations that cannot afford to pay an intern.

“A lot of students have to make the hard choice between a paid summer job and something else that’s not paid, but is a lot more worthwhile,”said Gretz, a Weinberg junior.

Gretz worked on a housing Web site to help students who leave campus to spend part of the year studying abroad or on an internship find on- and off-campus housing for the remainder of the year.

ASG members also worked on technical issues this summer, including negotiations for a switch to a more secure server space, after a crash last year prevented donations to Dance Marathon, said President Patrick Keenan-Devlin, a Music senior.

Keenan-Devlin said the upcoming months will be used to follow through on the issues candidates brought to the table in the election. His priorities include getting emergency phones installed at El stations, while Downs said he would continue efforts to get departments to post book lists on the Internet before classes start.

Reach Diana Samuels at [email protected].