Sherwin Yen, Illinois Student Government's new vice president, said he understands that student government isn't often on students' minds.

"Some people don't know ISG exists, much less what it does," he said.

Yen was appointed by ISG President Marcia Fuentes last week over four other candidates, filling the vacancy in the position that was created when Fuentes assumed the role of president this August.

A fifth-year senior in engineering, Yen never took a political science class or ran in a campus election. However, as a member of the Asian-Pacific American Coalition, he worked with ISG officials and found out how the organization worked for students.

"Kind of a system exists, and if you want to get things done you've got to be part of that system," he said.

Now, Yen's job is to let the student body know how ISG can benefit them.

"Maybe ISG needs somebody to come in from the outside and reach out to students," he said.

Yen said that rather than tell students to come to ISG with problems, ISG must approach students and campus groups to discuss issues and problems.

Already, Yen said ISG assembly members have "traveling" office hours, which allows them to spend time outside talking to students rather than sitting in the ISG Office.

Also, the ISG vice president acts as a liaison between ISG and the Student Senate Caucus. Yen said he hopes to coordinate activities and programs with the caucus.