Pastides and alumni association host 23 past student leaders over the weekend 
This weekend was a very presidential one — and the State of the University fanfare hadn't yet begun.
Twenty-three former student body presidents returned to campus for the inaugural gathering of the Student Body Presidents Council, a committee aimed to share perspectives and advice for USC President Harris Pastides and Student Body President Kenny Tracy.
With more than 60 years serving USC between them, they met with administrators for briefings on the university's status and exchanged stories of their experiences.
Tommy Preston, one of the council's organizers, who served as student body president in 2006-07, said a group with that shared experience can benefit the university immensely.
"Former presidents really needed to stay connected," he said. "As a group, they have passion, institutional knowledge and external contacts.
"This is a passion of mine," he added. "The last time [a group like this was] on campus was when I was student president; I'm fully committed to working with Dr. Pastides and his team. Hopefully this is a tradition that will be long-lasting for the university."
He said USC has "so much momentum right now" and wants the committee's insight to aid not just the president or Student Government members, but the average student.
"We want to help develop students to be leaders," he said. "The average student should graduate with a better foundation to be a leader."
The weekend was hosted by USC President Harris Pastides, the Student Life Office and the MyCarolina Alumni Association, and included a discussion of future goals, including "developing an electronic mentoring program, enhancing the alternative spring break programs that USC already offers and promoting the Leadership Initiative," according to an SG release.
USC students didn't pay a dime for the retreat. The Alumni Association covered a few meals, but Joe Wright, Tracy's predecessor, said he paid his own way in from Chicago, where he's working for Huron Consulting, as well as for his living arrangements and football ticket.
"We're all professionals with jobs; we're not going to let our university pay for that," he said. "But it's great outreach to bring some great people back to the university."
Wright said the resource to Tracy and future student body presidents could be monumental, as the university takes a while to fully understand, and the student body president interacts with it at every level.
"Student body presidents are one of the most unique positions at the university," Wright said. "They're students, they're in the classroom, they're in the administration, they're in the community. They deal with the high-hanging fruit and the low-hanging fruit, from freshmen to grad students."
He said that's where a team of former presidents could help out, calling them a group of problem solvers who can identify issues throughout the system and find ways to improve them.
Preston said between 15 and 20 more of the 60 presidents still alive today couldn't be here this weekend but expressed interested in the council.
As for Tracy, who was elected last spring, he was especially excited for the advisory and networking opportunity it offered.
"It was nice having all those minds in one room who have represented hundreds of thousands of students," he said. He said hearing how they handled various issues, from integration to joining the SEC, will help him as he deals with similar situations.
Preston said Meredith Ross, who served in 2009, emphasized the importance of the committee most concisely:
"When you serve as student body president at USC, that position doesn't end when the next person comes in," she'd said. "You serve for the rest of your life."