Student Senate Cabinet elections will open April 15 and will end at midnight Wednesday, April 17. Results will be announced on Thursday, April 18 at 10:15 a.m. Two cabinets are running for the position: “Will to Change the Hill” and “Serve, Challenge, Belong.”
William Jewell College’s Student Senate is composed of students representing each grade level and a variety of organizations. The senators tackle campus issues impacting both students and staff and work to create a better environment for the community.
The “Will to Better the Hill” Cabinet consists of:
– President: Sarah Lewis, junior business, political science and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry (ACT-In) major. Currently, Lewis is involved in various groups including softball, Zeta Tau Alpha, College Union Activities (CUA) and more, as well as being a First Year Mentor. Lewis also serves on the current Senate cabinet as Vice President.
– Vice-President: Carman Stephenson, sophomore elementary education major. Currently, Stephenson is involved in a variety of groups on campus including Zeta Tau Alpha, CUA, and the Pryor Leadership Program. Stephenson also serves as a first-year resident assistant in Eaton.
– Treasurer: Tavarus Pennington, first-year communications major. Currently, Pennington is an active member of Jewell’s debate team, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, a writer for The Hilltop Monitor and a member of the Climate Assessment and Response Team (CART).
– Secretary: John Haug, first-year chemistry major. Currently, Haug is a member of Phi Gamma Delta.
The cabinet describes their platform as such:
1. Renovation of student spaces, such as the cage.
Our cabinet feels passionate about having the conversations necessary to change the spaces that are important to our students. After meeting with Kiki we have been able to gather more information about how to make this happen.
2. Continuation of past Senate ideas, such as the flyer policy.
With the help of Sarah, our cabinet believes that it is important that we have a smooth transition between this year’s cabinet and next year’s cabinet. We want to ensure that we are implementing the policies that this Senate has worked so hard to complete.
3. Cultivating more Diversity & Inclusion, focusing on eliminating “groupthink.”
We realize that diversity and inclusion needs to be a priority in order to move our campus forward. Our cabinet is ready to re-evaluate our current practices and have the hard conversations necessary to cultivate a more inclusive campus with more informed individuals. We hope to do this through new diversity and inclusion summits that will take the place of current Town Halls.
4. Becoming a more environmentally friendly campus.
Our cabinet would like to see more reusable items on our campus especially in regards to our coffee shops. We would like to incorporate reusable straws and look into the possibility of a Jewell “tumbler” that can be reused.
The “Serve, Challenge, Belong” cabinet consists of:
– President: Hannah Keeney, junior psychological science major. Currently, Keeney is involved in Cardinal Hosts, Blazers, Delta Zeta, and Track and Field. Keeney also serves on the current Senate cabinet as Treasurer.
– Vice-President: Mario Magana Jr., first-year business administration major. Currently, Magana is involved with CART, Mi Gente Organization, the Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup, Pryor Leadership and football.
– Treasurer: Hunter O’Connor, first-year political science and history major. Currently, O’Connor is involved in Kappa Alpha Order, Pryor Leadership and football.
– Secretary: Micah Williams, junior biology and ACT-In major. Currently, Williams is the President of the Black Student Association, involved in the Student Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup, Mi Gente Organization and was a First Year Mentor.
The cabinet describes their platform as such:
“This cabinet is running on the slogan of “Serve, Challenge, Belong” Their platform includes a main focus of inclusion on campus. To improve diversity and inclusion, they intend to be extremely intentional with facilitating dialogue throughout campus and actively help change the climate of Jewell so it can be more inclusive, open to change and transparent with its students. In addition, their cabinet wants to continue to push for better representation on Senate and welcome all perspectives.
Hannah, Mario, Micah and Hunter also want to challenge the institution by pushing for improvements to on-campus housing, specifically in upperclassmen residence halls and emphasizing the importance of student input within institutional committees and alterations at Jewell.
This cabinet’s main goals align with their slogan. The first, serve; modeling servant leadership and empowering students to take ownership of their time at Jewell and actively engaging in dialogue and pursuing meaningful purpose. Challenge; to challenge not only the student body but the institution to be more engaged and open to new ideas to better the community as a whole. Lastly, belong; creating an inclusive climate for all students to be represented and feel empowered in their community. Hannah, Mario, Hunter and Micah are enthused to have the opportunity to run for Student Senate and look forward to the debate on Thursday where they will have a chance to speak more on their visions for the Jewell community.”
You can also recap on the Student Senate debates that occurred April 12, where both sides argued their platforms.