The Marquette Tribune campus news since 1916
Volume 109, Number 24
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
www.marquettewire.org
New MUSG leadership Students discuss dating culture at a Jesuit university
Photo by Lily Wooten lily.wooten@marquette.edu
Graphic by Allegra Delli Carpini allegra.dellicarpini@marquette.edu
Jacob Ricard (left) and Rae Dakins (right) embrace after being named MUSG president and VP.
Students have differing opinions on dating at a Catholic college.
Jacob Ricard and Rae Dakins won 54% of the vote
Romantic scene doesn't reflect MU values, some say
By Lance Schulteis
lance.schulteis@marquette.edu
F
ollowing an inauguration ceremony on April 7, Marquette University Student Government will officially have new leadership. Jacob Ricard and Rae Dakins were named the organization’s incoming president and executive vice president with 54% of the vote in the 2026 MUSG spring election. MUSG announced the results in a March 27 press conference after a 23-hour voting period. “I’m super excited to be able to put all the things that I’ve been saying into actual action,” Ricard said after the announcement. The election’s voter turnout included 25% of the student body, which Ricard and Dakins won over juniors Hawo Mohamed and Aya Khayati. Ricard, a junior in the College of Business Administration, will assume the presidency after spending three years as a part of MUSG. He currently serves on seven committees, including the Student Engagement Committee and the Diversity, Equity and
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Social Justice Committee. Dakins, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, is a member of ROTC and a resident assistant in Schroeder Hall. She has also spent three years with MUSG, including two years as the Arts & Sciences senator. Additionally, she previously worked on a bill offering increased access to menstrual products as the Community Engagement Committee coordinator. Now, the pair will have the opportunity to be a voice on campus in MUSG’s highest roles. As part of the ticket’s campaign platforms, Ricard and Dakins said they will spend their term improving campus life and access to student resources. “I need to be able to serve my fellow Marquette peers,” Dakins said. “When Jacob asked me to run with him, I thought this was the prime opportunity to be able to work together to make sure that things get done, because we need action — not just ideas.” Changes to organizational funding Among those intended actions, the incoming president and executive vice president expect to overhaul Student Organizational Funding over the next year, modernizing the system while making it easier to use. SOF is a process where clubs and
organizations can apply to receive funding for events, made possible by the annual activity fee Marquette students pay. Funding currently runs on the Presence system, which Ricard described as “outdated.” His administration plans to introduce an online training course to teach student leaders how to use the system, he said, as the current structure has led to SOF workers fielding an influx of emails about how to solve funding problems. “It’s complicated; it’s not intuitive for people who are not specifically trained on it,” he said. “We really want this thing to be accessible for everybody to be able to use.” With the overhauled system, Ricard and Dakins also plan to launch a public FAQ page to clarify details about how to access funding. Legislation to change the system is ongoing, Ricard said. Improved student wellness policies The two also intend to make changes to the student experience, adjusting policies for students to take sick days and increasing access to sexual health resources. Marquette’s current attendance policy does not excuse student absences
Index
News
Sports
Opinions
Get to know both candidates ahead of their April 2 meeting.
Joel Rollings is gearing up for competition in fall 2026.
MLB restrictions can prevent fans from watching their favorite teams.
SPORTS.......................................................5 OPINIONS..................................................9 FUN & GAMES.......................................10 A&E.................................................................11
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By Lillie Martin
lillie.martin@marquette.edu
With spring officially upon Wisconsinites, some say love is in the air. But Marquette students have differing thoughts on the campus dating culture at a Catholic, Jesuit university. The university promotes “cura personalis,” or care for the whole person, but some students say navigating dating and relationships often reflects the opposite. Casual encounters, social media and party culture play a significant role in forming relationships at Marquette. Hookup culture, defined by students as casual relationships, sexual encounters and dating, has become a big part of campus life. “I feel our campus isn’t as bad as a state school or some bigger universities, being a Jesuit college, but we still definitely have a lot of hookup culture prevalent on campus,” Aaron Hunter, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said. Hunter describes Marquette’s dating culture as mixed, with students having different intentions
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based on why they chose to attend the university. Some are drawn to the Jesuit identity, others come for the campus social life or academics, which Hunter said is reflected in how they approach dating. Jake Green, a first-year student in the College of Arts & Sciences, sees the culture somewhat differently, describing campus as having a more casual relationship scene. “There are definitely some serious relationships, but I would say the majority of them have to land on the sexual side,” he said. Arya Jennens, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, mirrored Green’s opinion. She described hookup culture as prevalent among her fellow Golden Eagles. Jennens added that many students, specifically women, have to navigate wanting a serious, meaningful relationship while adapting to a more casual relationship culture. “A lot of girls that I know pretend they don’t want something more because a lot of guys they interact with don’t,” she said. Some students like Jennens, Green and Hunter feel like this culture stems from places like See DATING page 3
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