Last Tuesday, Student Senate elections occurred – where approximately 300 students voted – and the results were sent in an email from Dean of Students Casey Gill on last Wednesday morning.
Zach Lough, ’17, will be returning for the third consecutive year as student senate president for the 2016-17 academic year. Charles North, ’19, will be joining as senate’s vice president; Olivia Dominguez, ’18, will be secretary; Katie Harman, ’17, will be treasurer; Cameron Black, ’17, will be faculty student coordinator; and Meghan Bobbitt will be senior class president.
“It is such an honor to be representing Wittenberg as Senate Treasurer,” Harman said. “Senate Treasurer has been my goal since the beginning of my junior year, and it is quite exciting to have accomplished the goal I set out for myself. I am eager to meet new people and to make an impact on Wittenberg.”
Lough is also excited to prepare for next year.
“I am honored to be serving a third year as this university’s student body president,” Lough said. “It feels great knowing I have the ability in my role to affect good change on campus, and having the opportunity to continue that work for a third time is quite an honor.”
Though excited for the opportunity to represent his class again, Lough expressed concern over the lack of participation in campus government.
“I am bittersweet about this election,” Lough said. “Though I am honored to have the position for a third time, I am concerned with the willingness of the student body to run for positions on Student Senate. I have ran [sic] unopposed all three years, and honestly, that concerns me. This is also true with a majority of our other Student Senate positions as well. Student Senate is tasked with a duty of representing our student body effectively. At the end of the day, my concern is that students are not being properly represented when there are not more people running with opposition.”
Looking to next year, Harman is ready to make a difference.
“Courtland [the 2015-16 Student Senate Treasurer] has done an amazing job in his term as treasurer, and I was to continue to build off his ideas and policies during my term to make Wittenberg the best it can be,” she said. “Most importantly, I hope to represent the student body well, and to ensure that funds are spent appropriately.”
To finish out this school year, Lough’s primary goal is to complete the project for the Center for Engaged Learning and Student Success.
For next school year, Lough’s plans include reinforcing student senators in their positions to ensure they best serve the student body, to strengthen the influence of diversity on campus through a diversity coalition, involvement of the new Dining Services Advisory committee, getting more of the student body involved in Student Senate, educating students on how their student fees and monies are being spent.
“It has always been my goal to make the student experience the best it can be for students on campus,” Lough said. “We have an amazing community that we live in, and they deserve to be represented well, and benefit from the work Student Senate does.”
According to Gill’s email, the officers will be sworn into office on April 19 at 7 p.m. in the student senate office (located in Shouvlin across from the health center).
