This past Friday, April 25, Drew University students had the opportunity to vote for their new class senators going into the next academic year. This year’s election was a diverse one, with newly elected student senators across the board.
Numerous different positions were up for grabs this cycle, including sophomore, junior, senior and international senators. Winners included Ann Marie De Jesus (‘28) and Jackson Howard (‘28) for sophomore senators, James Dempsey (‘27) and Mari Centeno (‘27) for junior senators, Vedant Maheshwari (‘27) and Ashish Gupta (‘28) for international senators, Sandra Faragalla (‘26) and Gabe Spivak (‘26) for senior senators and Arya Patel (‘27) and Thomas Jenkins (‘28) for commuter senators, as well as INTO Senator Michelle Tirta (‘25).
Student Government held a meeting this Wednesday, April 30, to swear in the newly elected and reelected members and discuss other relevant matters. Student Body President Zaire Wright (‘27) gave an executive address congratulating all senators, as well as extending a special thanks to Elections Chair Jordyn Casanova-Ghosh (‘28) and others who helped with Election Day efforts. Wright also congratulated graduating seniors Benjamin Castro and Evan Pratts (both outgoing senior senators).
During the meeting, the Senate also passed resolutions that align the bylaws and ethical standards of the Budgets & Organizations Board with those of Student Government, as well as budgets for end-of-year events. The senators also discussed possible ramifications of new federal policies for a number of Drew programs.
Dempsey, one of the newly elected junior senators, talked about some things he’d like to improve about Drew during his time as a member of Student Government, including increasing SGA presence at campus events. “Going into this, I’m not completely sure of policies,” he noted, but “speaking as a student, the idea is to go to the Student Council for things and I don’t often see that actually happening.”
Dempsey also emphasized that “the fact that [Drew] is a small campus means that everyone is a lot more connected,” and that as part of increasing that presence he would like to communicate more with the community as a whole. He suggested the possibility of weekly or biweekly newsletters with information on “what we got done…[and how we’re addressing] constituent suggestions.”
Dempsey also highlighted some of his concerns about organization and logistics at Drew, especially noting that locations for the English department are still uncertain pending the sale of Sitterly House as part of Drew’s deal with the Borough of Madison. He noted that “drivers should not be sitting at the closed Glenwild gate for hours looking for help,” calling for better signage and more accessibility to make campus more easily navigable. He added that he appreciates the updates to the Commons and other areas, and would like to see similar updates and refurbishments made to other aging facilities around campus, such as some dorms.
Overall, this year’s election signaled a significant shift in student opinions and sentiments, with new representatives being elected across the board. Students are eagerly anticipating the new changes that their newly elected senators will bring, and it remains to be seen what policies they may implement.
Faiz Menai is a sophomore who is majoring in political science and minoring in sociology and anthropology.