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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
the student voice since 1960
DYLAN HEMBROUGH reporter
Nineteen candidates gathered over two days to discuss their visions for SIUE, should they be elected this week.
WHAT EXPERIENCE QUALIFIES YOU FOR THIS POSITION IN LEADERSHIP?
Kenzie Richards, who is running for student government president, said her prior experience as senator-at-large on student government has given her opportunities to work with a variety of departments. “This year I serve as external affairs officer for student government, which means that I organize a large portion of the events student government puts on,” Richards said. “This allows me to connect with administration, as well as get to know the students on campus through these events and kind of gauge what you want to see.” Richards, who is currently president of the Psychology Club, said her involvement on campus serves to aid her in making decisions that properly represent the student body — a core tenet of her campaign platform. “I really want to get the feedback of all of those different students, which is why I try to stay so involved on campus … to get as large a range of students as possible in order to make sure that I can serve you guys as effectively as I can with the information that I have,” Richards said. Ugo Eleonu, a Nigerian international student who is also running for student government president, said his experiences in a new country have improved his personal judgment and given him a better understanding of different perspectives. “Two and a half years ago, I picked up, left my home country and came to the U.S,” Eleonu said. “It was a very different experience for me, coming to new environments in the middle of the pandemic and having so much restriction and less contact with everybody.” Eleonu, a member of the School of Engineering, said his involvement in local leadership as an engineering senator and his current position as a financial officer within student government have given him the necessary insight for running for president. “I was not aware of how much impact I could have on the student body,” Eleonu said. “This has been one of the main driving forces that has led me to the decision of running for student government president.” Barrett Larkin, who is running for one of the positions as senator-at-large, said his previous experience in local politics in the Metro East have prepared
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him for the position for which he is running. “I’m from the area [and] I’ve done local politics in the area,” Larkin said. “I actually care about it.” Larkin also said since he is planning on staying in the area after he graduates, he has a different perspective on the future of the campus than other candidates. “I’ve got my finger on the pulse of both the community and the campus. What happens here on campus matters to me in a way it wouldn’t matter to [the other candidates],” Larkin said. “So there you go, that’s why I’m the best.” Jared Jess, who is running for vice president alongside Eleonu’s campaign, cited his involvement in organizations as diverse as Student Veterans of America and the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity as reasons why he should be elected. Jess also said he has been involved in a number of committees dedicated to building a sense of community and belonging on campus. “I’m also a research assistant for the physics department as a mechatronics and robotics research assistant, and I’m also currently serving on student government as a senator for the School of Engineering,” Jess said. Juan Pizano, who is running for vice president in tandem with Richards’s campaign, said he plans to use his status as a freshman to bring a unique perspective to student government. “I’m a first-generation student and out of state, so I’ve kind of learned to pick up on what it means to be in Edwardsville and SIUE,” Pizano said. “I had the opportunity to be here over the summer at SIUE and learn about campus and the different services and departments we have out here.” Pizano also said his position as an outsider would aid in his service as vice president. Current student government president Rahmat Salau, now a candidate for graduate senator, cited her current experience as president preparing her for advocating for graduate students. “I’ve had opportunities to make connections with administrators and faculty and staff members,” Salau said. “I hope to take the experience that I have in this role this year as I go into graduate school to advocate for graduate students on campus and bring light to issues maybe not everybody knows about.”
WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR SIUE 20 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD?
Eleonu said he hopes to promote the importance of research funding at SIUE, referencing Jess’s experience as a research assistant to emphasize his point. Eleonu also said he hopes SIUE @alestlelive
will become more diverse and more welcoming to all kinds of students. “I come from a more cultural mindset,” Eleonu said. “In 20 years time, I see SIUE as a more diverse community. I see SIUE having more people of color, I see SIUE having international students from more countries, I see SIUE actually having a community in Edwardsville that supports these students that isn’t just based on whether you’re from the area of Edwardsville or not.” Richards said when she was first applying to colleges, SIUE was a safety school, an institution that was more of a backup than a top pick. However, in her time as a student here, she said she has seen the potential SIUE has to be viewed as more than that by the wider community. “SIUE is a place that I went to as a safety school, and that’s where a lot of people fall when they look at SIUE,” Richards said. “But with the work being put into this community, SIUE will not be a safety school, because it’s not just a safety school … Going to SIUE for the purpose of really getting a fantastic education is what we want to work towards, because that is what you get when you go to SIUE.” Larkin also said SIUE has the potential to be perceived as more than just a backup option, but that that transformation has to be balanced correctly. “I see SIUE existing within the larger community with some sort of synergy between the two,” Larkin said. “[The chancellor] wants us to be a little more prestigious, and I like that, but I don’t want to abandon the cost. We’re a school of people, we’re not fancy, we’re not highfalutin or think we’re better than everybody else. We can be better than everyone else, but let’s be humble about it.” Ashton Carter, a candidate for the School of Business senator, also wanted SIUE to be a “number one pick” for prospective students. Carter said he would focus instead on the culture being fostered on campus, rather than purely academic matters. “We don’t have as much culture as we could have, but in the next 20 years, SIUE could have that culture,” Carter said. Lauren Harris, who is running for student trustee, brought a personal perspective to the table. “I think it’s also important to look back about 28 years. My mom also went to SIUE … [where] she met her friends [and] her future maids of honor,” Harris said. “People are still meeting their people here on campus, they’re still meeting the people that they’re going to love forever, they’re getting an education that’s going to further their career and their goals.”
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