ARTICLE: Update from Student Senate
The Bagpipe had the opportunity to sit down and chat with both the oldest and newest members of Student Senate. Erik Peeples ’20 is now Student Body President after serving for two years as Class President and last year as the Student Body Vice President. The other, Liz Daley ’23 from Columbia, SC, is the newly elected Freshman Class President. Both had insights on what Senate has been and what it can be in the future.
First question to the veteran, Erik: what are some things you’ve seen change on Senate in your four years?
Peeples: When I got into Senate my freshman year, the executive committee was comprised of a lot of business majors. Senate was going through an ideological battle of should it be run as a business or not. We’ve moved forward from trying to be run as a business and realizing that if there is something we can do for students, we should do it. Like, if we have the money to pay for students to go to events, we should do it. Senate has also gotten more efficient. Last year we created the finance committee which comes up with budget decisions before [Senate meetings], which gets rid of a lot of extra discussion. It’s so much more streamlined, and so much less argumentative. This allows us to focus on bigger and broader topics.
Is there something you’d like to see changed about Senate this year?
Peeples: I would like to see Senate more connected to campus and I’d like to see Senate grow. Functionally, I want Student Senate to be more connected so we’re doing these events called Minute with Senate where we’ll be going to each Resident Hall for about an hour or so where we’ll be meeting with RAs, collaborating with them, sitting down in lobbies of each building to help make ourselves known.
Structurally, we’re looking to add a position to be a liaison to the Multicultural Program. Last year we felt the need to address the dissonance between Senate and the rest [of the Student Body], and the Multicultural Program is a large and growing institution. In most other schools, this is a program that is usually under senate, so we thought about creating a voting position that would be on Senate as a liaison to represent the diversity on campus.
What do you [Erik] think Senate should be addressing in this upcoming year?
Peeples: We need to continue the conversation to make Covenant a more eco-friendly and sustainable place. I think Covenant can do more in regards to that, especially as we’re called to be stewards. My vision for this year is to make Senate more united with the rest of campus. We want to let everyone know that we are there for them, and we support them. We aren’t just some group of students that meet in isolation. [End Quote]
[Note to Reader: Student Senate meets in Carter 109 Tuesdays, 7:30. All meetings are open to the public.]
Now, from a conversation with our most experienced Senator, to our newest.
Why did you want to run for Freshman class president?
Daley: I definitely first thought, “Oh that’s cool” but I’m sure like many others I thought that there’s no way that I have time for this right now. But, it definitely is something that I love, and something I’ve done before. I toggled back and forth and settled on that it would help get me out of my comfort zone. Then it quickly turned to [the thought that] maybe this will be my place in the community to serve.
Have you had any student government experience prior to being elected Freshman Class president?
Daley: Yes, but not technically. I was homeschooled and I didn’t really have a great way to do [Student Government]. I did participate in and work for an organization called TeenPact. As a student I ran for governor and won one year. This past summer I ran for a national position as senator. I didn’t win, but it was still a fun experience. I think that’s when I fell in love with politics. So I think that’s kind of how I saw this position coming in, but I didn’t realize how much power and influence the Senate here actually has.
Do you have any plans for the Freshman class you’d like to share?
Daley: I definitely want to make sure I listen well to the Freshmen class and hear what they want before I commit to anything significant. I’ve heard a lot of [conversation about] continuing to improve gluten-free and dairy-free options. There also isn’t a lot of vegetarian options. For right now, I’m trying to figure out the best way to talk to my class, outside of the people I’m surrounded by. That’s sort of what I ran on, was that I love the community here, and that cliche should continue. [End Quote]
As Peeples begins to pass the torch to underclassmen like Daley, the Bagpipe will continue to follow along with Student Senate, keeping the Student Body up to date with changes the Senate may make.
