As in all my past and current roles, I have served the student body. If elected president, I will preside over the Student Government Association and represent you all on our Board of Trustees.
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Scroll down to see what I will do for you!
A Student Government for the Students
The Student Government Association is an organization dedicated to serving the student body. We have accomplished a lot but there's still more to be done. My slogan is Action over Advocacy because I feel that so often SGA talks about what they want to do but we fail to do so. To do so, I want to make adjustments internally in SGA such as:
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Director of Sustainability on the Executive Branch
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live stream Senate meetings
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publish all Senate and Executive meetings and Senator votes
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establish three focuses with the Director of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence prior to the school year to ensure this role is being utilized to its max capacity
Fall 2020 food giveaway organized by myself as SGA Director of Operations
Inclusive LGBTQ+ Housing
This was something I began my first year here as a Senator in partnership with the Sexual and Gender Alliance organization and Residential Living. We requested a rainbow hall, a living-learning community focused on the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement and how to advocate for that community, and the addition of this question to the random roommate survey - "Would you like to room with a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally?". You can see the legislation I wrote concerning these projects here.
These ideas were agreed upon by Residential Living but have not come to fruition due to the shifted focus on the construction of Allen, removal of Scott and Walker, and COVID-19. As we transition back to normal operations and as Student Body President, I want to refocus on those projects to ensure their completion. Our LGBTQ+ students deserve to live in an environment without fear of judgment.
attended a pride in Germany during the 2018 Catamount Gap Abroad
Post COVID-19
While it is difficult to say for sure that COVID-19 will be over by the fall semester, the university is preparing to go back to normal operations come August.
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COVID-19 has left a lasting impact on not just our university but the world. Students who have just now gotten used to online classes on Blackboard will have to adjust back to in-person classes while learning how to use Canvas. In addition, mental health and health services, in general, will need to remain a top priority. Students will continue to need support mentally, but some of whom have had COVID-19 may now have lasting health problems as a result. And within the Student Government Association, I hope to expand the regulations for supplemental funding for organizations to request money for events and travel as they did prior to COVID-19.
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For more information about the transition from Blackboard to Canvas, click here.
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I helped put together PPE kits for the Spring 2021 semester.
Election Day Off
Western Carolina University has made history with its continued effort for student involvement in elections. In 2020, WCU had the youngest polling location in the entire state with an average voter age of 26.7 years old.
It's time Western followed the example of many universities by having no classes on Election Day allowing students, faculty, and staff the day to cast their ballot.
working with the Student Democracy Coalition to promote student engagement in the 2020 elections
Proper Graduate and Professional Student Representation
There is a push across the UNC system to better advocate for our graduate and professional students.
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The Student Government Association advocates for all students - undergraduate and graduate. However, SGA lacks proper representation and understanding of the graduate experience to do so properly. I would work to give more power to the Graduate Student Association allowing them to become the main advocating body for graduate and professional students. I have already begun this by having conversations with the current Graduate Student Body President Elijah McCoy about ways SGA can help the GSA become self-sufficient and how the Student Body President and Graduate Student Body President can work more closely together.
hanging with Paws at scholarship cermony