Wright State University’s Student Government Association purpose is to ensure that student voices are heard and that campus policies reflect their needs. Each spring, students campaign for elected positions within the organization. This year, only two Senator positions had any opposition, which were the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science and Math.
College of Liberal Arts
As with any debate, the COLA candidates were asked the same questions in the same order. The first thing that each candidate was asked was to introduce themselves. Introductions were followed by the question of what each candidate thinks the biggest issue facing their college is.
Grazier Bolha is a communications student with a minor in political science. They also shared that they are a non-binary student who transferred from Sinclair Community College. Bolha described themself as open and honest, with a focus on relationships and finding middle ground.
"I would say the biggest problem facing the College of Liberal Arts would be the Senate Bill one and other approaches to destroy diversity in education and diversity, inclusion and equality in the classroom, as well as just other advances to make it harder for students to learn what they want to learn and teachers to do what they want to teach," Bolha said.
Janaya Render is a history major in her third year at WSU. She is a study abroad ambassador and Model UN delegate. She shared that she is a commuter as well as a transfer student. Render described herself as someone who works to empower all those around her and cares about supporting those from all backgrounds.
"I think one of the most pressing issues happening in the College of Liberal Arts right now is that students do not know about their post-grad opportunities. A lot of students just think, because they have a degree in history, they have to be a historian, or if they have a degree in African American studies, they have to go into a doctorate program with that. But there are so many opportunities and careers out there that you can go into with a college of liberal arts degree. And I want to make sure that seniors [know] that and that they're not confined to a box when it comes to their opportunities," Render said.
They were asked many questions, including how they planned to approach concerns about course availability and faculty or advising within COLA.
"I want to make sure that we are advocating for students in [different majors] within the college, and make sure that they're getting what they want and really disbanding the gap between students and the professors with the admin so that they can get the sections they need," Render said.
In response to the same question, Bolha said: "We need to make sure that everyone is able to get as much advising as they need, and to ensure that they are not making choices based off of their own faulty understanding of how things work."
Both candidates expressed that they were somewhat familiar with the bylaws, and expressed their intent to learn them more intimately if elected into the position.
College of Science and Math
The candidates for COSM were asked questions in the same order as those for COLA, starting with introductions and then going into the issues facing their colleges.
Cohen Kohorst will be a senior next semester and is the current senator for COSM. He also holds leadership positions in other organizations as well, serving as the treasurer in Pre-Health Society and the Commuter Students Association. He explained that his leadership style centers on kindness, empathy and welcoming.
"Currently, I am an undergraduate student majoring in double majoring in neuroscience and physiology as well as biological sciences. And as an undergraduate student, COSM is mainly made up of undergraduate students, and these... first year students feel like they don't know how to transition from the very first year after high school until until the first year of college, and that transition can be a really rough time to some people. My goal is to make that be able to that first transition, [and] to be able to better support students and advocate for student needs, as well as just being able to be a listening ear and easy to talk to," Kohorst said.
Yashoda Omkaresha is an international graduate student pursuing immunology and microbiology. She shared that she founded a club and runs a YouTube channel, both of which are centered around science. She described her leadership style as outreach-centered and making herself approachable.
"I think I have really two different perspectives of the same thing, because I'm also an international student and a graduate student, and I see how it's very different for undergrads and graduates. I think for graduate students, it's mostly research opportunities. The number of students in COSM with the number of labs available are really less. The number of students who are interested in thesis versus who actually get to do it is comparatively less. It's also jobs on campus. I think it's really different for undergraduate students, and I'm lucky that I had an opportunity to talk to them and get to know what it was mostly for people, it's about tutoring services," Omkaresha said.
Next, the candidates were asked how they planned to approach course availability and advising or faculty concerns in CoSM.
"Currently, as SGA senator for CoSM, I am hosting an event soon for first-year students to come. It's going to be student led thing, student led organization for students to express their concerns about what is going on within the college and how we can make that transition easier, and by doing so, we're going to take these results and bring it to faculty and administration, and from there, they will implement their ways to better accommodate student needs," Kohorst said.
When asked the same question, Omkaresha said "just being more communicative about what exactly is happening and why students are facing, and just talking to more advisors and having meetings with advisors when they need, and just be keeping them more involved. [It] would be really helpful to know what is really happening with the students and what they look forward to. Another thing that can really be helpful is supplemental learning."
When asked about their knowledge of the bylaws, Kohorst expressed his familiarity with the bylaws, and said that one change on his mind was adding more student representation. Omkaresha expressed that she does not know the bylaws very well, and that the main thing she would change about the organization would be to inform students about its presence.
Conclusion
Students need to stay up to date with the SGA and what is going on with it. Reaching out to members with concerns and feelings can be beneficial, as the SGA is in place to be a voice for students.
It is good to see multiple people interested in SGA positions. With many new members of SGA for the upcoming year, it will be interesting to see what changes are made and how active the new SGA will be at WSU.
Regardless of who wins these races, WSU students can rest easily knowing that all candidates value diverse opinions and shared plans to advocate for their colleges, the students in them and the greater, more diverse WSU community. They all want to see engagement increase with SGA, and to be a voice for the students within their respective colleges.
