By Patrick Sullivan, Staff Writer
On Tuesday, March 27, the Student Senate hosted an election forum for their presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The candidates spoke about their past experiences, future changes that they hope to implement, and took questions from the moderator and audience.
Miranda Zamora ‘23 is running unopposed for president of the Student Senate. Zamora has served as the vice president of the Student Senate this past year. In this capacity, Zamora spoke about her experience with running elections for committee chairs along with other duties of her role.
Zamora emphasized communication and consistent outreach in her remarks: “I want to build a bridge between the student senate and the student body.” She added that she hopes to set up office hours so that people can voice their concerns in a more private manner. She also affirmed the importance of inclusion and noted her role on the inclusion board.
The final question asked to Zamora concerned what she wanted to change as president. After mentioning recent internal problems with the Student Senate, she explained how she wanted to “foster a community where we can communicate … work as a team.”
The vice-presidential election forum followed, with candidates Geoffrey Meadville ’25 and Rocco Rodrigues ’23. The moderator alternated asking questions to both after their opening statements.
Meadville spoke first about his experience as a senator-at-large and committee chair for Student Senate this year. Meadville noted that he wanted to work on improving relations and being more cohesive.
When asked what skills have prepared him for this position, Meadville spoke about having a “fresh perspective,” thus “less bias” and being able to “think outside the box.”
On the subject of time commitment, Meadville explained that it was “time that I’m excited to be committed to.” Geoffrey spoke about wanting to work with the secretary on outreach and facilitating elections so that more people are engaged with the Student Senate. Additionally, Geoffrey noted the considerable amount of diverse groups on campus and “working with them to feel represented.”
In his statement of purpose, Meadville wrote that “I am committed to reforming the office to an internal role, dealing with members of the Senate and managing the body while the president takes on a more external role.” He added that “I believe that because I am newer to the senate I can be impartial and respectful when dealing with issues pertaining to the student body.”
Rodrigues spoke next in the vice-presidential forum. As a rising senior, Rodrigues has been a member of the Student Senate since his freshman year. He has been an executive chair for two and half years serving as the Co-Chair of the Academic and Career Affairs Committee while also doing work on the Academic Policy and Programming Committee.
Outside of the Student Senate, Rodrigues has served as treasurer of his fraternity, the Scholarship Chair of the Inter-Fraternity Council, and currently serves as president of his fraternity.
In his statement of purpose, Rodrigues explained, “All of my experience has taught me the intricacies of the inner workings of Student Senate and the functions of the college and its administration.”
When asked about changes, Rodrigues emphasized that “being a strong leader with direction is how you truly make change.”
He noted that his valuable skills are his ability to lead, communicate effectively, and bring information to larger groups.
Rodrigues explained that he perceived “groupthink” to be a problem within the Student Senate and proposed training to allow for open discussions so that people are not afraid to speak their minds.
Additionally, Rodrigues spoke about the need to fix the Student Senate’s image so that more people become engaged and run for positions.
Rodrigues concluded his remarks by speaking about some tangible results that he had produced in his past capacities with the Student Senate. He noted that while working with the Academic Policy and Programming Committee, he pushed for the pass/fail option over three semesters and the establishment of the Business and the International & Global Studies majors.
Voting has opened for the elections of the President and Vice President of the Student Senate and will remain open until noon on April 3rd.
