Thursday, Sept. 24, students at the College of William and Mary voted for representatives in the College’s Student Assembly. The class of 2030 voted for a class president and four senators, as is typical for the fall. Additionally, the class of 2029 voted to fill two vacant senator positions.
The Flat Hat spoke to each of the newly elected members to discuss their campaigns and goals for the remainder of the 334th session.
Class of 2029
The Class of 2029 senate election was uncontested, as only two candidates ran for two available seats. Nate Acklie ’29 and Isaiah Jimenez ’29 were elected.
Acklie said his care for the College’s community inspired him to run.
“I think there’s something to be said when an opportunity presents itself and you have the chance to contribute, just being willing to put yourself out there and make the jump,” he said.
Acklie said he felt his campaign helped strengthen his connection with other students.
“I’m a little bit more of a people person,” Acklie said. “I think that policy is an ever-changing issue, and it’s not always something that you can nail down.”
Acklie said he hopes to continue connecting with students and listening to their concerns in office.
Jimenez said he hopes to focus on student privacy and transparency around artificial intelligence-powered surveillance systems on campus, such as Flock cameras.
“I just want to be that kind of person who can really advocate for [students’] privacy and not have them feel their information is being taken in a way they don’t want it to,” he said.
Jimenez said he also hopes to improve Wi-Fi connectivity across campus and decrease dorm lockout fees for students.
Class of 2030
Students from the class of 2030 elected Paige Goble ’30, Aryan Garg ’30, Nicole Rodriguez ’30 and Nicholas Buchanan ’30 as senators.
Goble said she has been involved in student government for most of her life.
“I have always loved the initiatives that student government pushes forward,” she said. “I think that it is the backbone of a student body in that they really make sure to speak for students.”
Goble said she hopes to expand mental health resources for students.
“I struggle with mental health, and so it’s really important for me to work on shifting the culture around mental health,” she added.
Goble said she would want SA to create a mental health-focused working group and promote mental health education through speakers and events.
“I feel like it’s like the Lorax; I want to speak for the trees,” Goble said. “I want to speak for the people, make sure that they know that whatever they’re struggling with on campus or elsewhere, I’m a person they can turn to for that.”
Garg said he views his new position as a contact point between students and school leadership on pertinent issues.
“It would be really cool to be a bridge between [students] and admin or the senate, which can actually make a lot of progress on these problems,” he said.
Garg added that he wants to expand Dining Dollar partnerships for meal plans and represent other student dining concerns.
Rodriguez said she sees SA as a means to make a greater impact on campus, more than she could as an individual student.
Rodriguez said she wants to expand access to textbooks in the Earl Gregg Swem Library and provide other low-cost ways for students to get course materials, such as developing a map that shows locations of different campus resources. Rodriguez also described the values she hopes to be defined by as a senator.
“I want to be disciplined and consistent,” Rodriguez said. “I hope to be able to spread that consistency across campus, allowing students to see the transparency that I bring to the campus and that I’m actually passionate about meeting my goals.”
Buchanan said he decided to run to engage more closely with the College community and improve the student experience. He hopes to work toward streamlining dining options and other quality-of-life improvements for students, such as expanded dumpster availability.
Buchanan said he looks forward to collaborating with his peers in the senate to find ways to advocate for the student body.
Peniel Ogunde ’30 was elected president for the class of 2030.
Ogunde said she wanted to concentrate on ways SA can directly impact students’ lives. She mentioned the delayed opening of the West Woods Dining Hall as an example. Ogunde said even though SA may not be able to have a direct impact on campus construction projects, she will strive for greater transparency.
Ogunde also said she wants to provide fans to those dealing with temperature-related concerns in residence halls, such as the Botetourt Complex, manage laundry and printing costs and host more social gatherings where students can interact with peers.
“Building community is very important,” she said.
