Six students were elected to the Student Senate earlier this month, increasing the total number of members on the governing body to 10. This is the largest senate representation since the 2015-16 term.
Five students will serve as at-large representatives this year, with two of them alternating in the spring semester: Kaleb Barham, a first-year biology major; Jalani Brooks, a junior molecular biology and biochemistry major; Harry Cruz, a first-year history pre-law major; Senper Solomon Teferi, a junior nursing major (fall); and Shalom Teferi, a sophomore molecular biology and biochemistry major (spring).In a four-way race for the student liaison position, with three of the candidates in their first year at Goshen College, Alpha Banchasawan, a freshman biochemistry and public health major, placed first.
The Student Senate president, Javier Reyes, a junior nursing major, believes the increased senate membership is a result of “young student leaders that want to hit the ground running.” Cruz’s eagerness to join the senate confirms Reyes’ sentiment. After learning about Student Senate during the Student Clubs, Organizations, and Affinities Fair earlier this month, he said “I knew that was what I was going to aim for in my first year of college.” Cruz has hopes to become a lawyer and sees his time in the senate as an opportunity to help his community.
This year, the senate is focused on increasing their engagement with the student body, standardizing funding procurement for student-led groups and amending their current constitution. The existing cabinet wanted to fill positions that had sat empty in previous years.
Ivonne Ortiz, vice president of marketing and senior marketing major, said, “I think that the senate has not had a lot of involvement post COVID.” She considered this fall election “very successful.”
Senper ran for the at-large position in conjunction with her sister, Shalom. Senper will serve through the fall semester and Shalom will step in during the spring.
“It’s mainly because of our schedules,” Senper said. “I was thinking about [splitting the term], but after [Shalom] mentioned it., I thought it would be pretty cool.”
Senper expressed that being a commuter, nursing major and international student motivated her to run for senate. “There were struggles that I had to overcome,” she said.
Senper encouraged any student interested in a leadership position on campus to, “just go for it and try.”
Though the senate had not done anything different to attract underclassmen, Ortiz added, “As [upperclassmen] move towards graduation, having members as part of the senate throughout their four years is definitely going to be helpful in the long run.”
When asked if he anticipates moving up in the cabinet during his time at GC, Cruz said, “I want to try…but I feel like every position is important. No matter what I am, I feel like it is important.”
Cruz hopes to support campus initiatives that provide gender-affirming care for transgender students. “It is really hard to find it nowadays,” he said. “It will be really important for me if we find some kind of resourcing.”
Banchasawan said she joined the senate because she wants to, “make sure students feel comfortable sharing their concerns and know they are being heard.” She also hopes to strengthen her language and communication skills during her time as liaison.
Over the summer, the senate began drafting a new document called the Goshen College Club and Organizations Manual. The manual will serve to differentiate student clubs and organizations and the requirements of both groups and to standardize funding requests. Both Reyes and Ortiz have said that they hope to publish the manual by spring semester.
Apart from representing the GC student-body, the senate is also plays a crucial role in allocating funds to student groups. Last year, Reyes said there was no standard “cap” on funding requests from student-led groups. This meant that all clubs, organizations and affinities were able to request further funding atop their baseline budget if approved by the senate.
This year, all student groups will receive a maximum of $500. This change is in part due to the senate’s reduced budget.
The Student Senate’s budget has been reduced from $10,000 to $7,000 this year. Chandler Buchfeller, associate dean of students, is now overseeing the Student Senate. When asked about what led to this decision, Buchfeller said, “…this amount is comparable to what the senate has spent in the past few years.”
The $3,000 cut in effect represents the funds that were not spent in years prior, Buchfeller. He said. “So, we don’t anticipate that it is necessarily going to be felt in the same ways,” he said.
Senate members confirm that the administration had been talking about reducing the budget. “It’s actually part of the reason why we gave out so much money last year,” Reyes said.
Ortiz added, “I do think it would have been a little better had there been some more student input on that decision before it was made by the administration.”
Reyes and Egypt Boyd, senate vice president and a sophomore film production and writing major, are scheduled to meet with GC’s presidential cabinet on Oct. 24 to outline responsibilities of the senate and address any concerns on behalf of GC’s student body.
