INCOMING FRESHMEN AND TRANSFER STUDENTS FILL SEATS IN 2017-2018 STUDENT GOVERNMENT
By Olivia Vermane, Staff Writer
Mason’s student government recently held semi-annual elections, with ten new members from the incoming freshmen class voted in to the student senate.
The election was one of two organized every year to fill the 40-member senate. As the largest branch of student government, the senate passes legislation affecting the university. It is broken down into several committees responsible for different areas of student life
Ariana Ford, a biology major with a minor in business management, is one of the newly elected senators from the freshmen class. Ford is no stranger to student government, having served as class president through all four years of high school.
“Being that student government was an important part of my high school experience, I wanted to continue to have an impact on what the students want to get out of their college experience here at Mason,” said Ford.
Ford has always had a passion for politics, especially social research and human rights organizations, and she is considering a career in the political world. Although she is still deciding on ideas for her initiatives as a student senator, Ford said that she is looking forward to having a voice within the Mason community and being able to represent her freshman class in the senate.
Elizabeth Marge, another one of Mason’s newly elected freshman student senators, was also very involved in student government in high school. Although the recent university election process was stressful, she enjoyed meeting and networking with new people and hearing what they had to say.
“From the social media accounts to flyers it was definitely a lot, but it all was worth it,” she said.
Marge said that she personally values student government at Mason because the organization is a way for students to voice their opinion and make necessary changes throughout the university. She is already discussing her plans and goals as a student senator.
“I am aiming to create a school-wide card making campaign for the holidays and Valentine’s Day,” said Marge. “These cards will be sent overseas to our veterans, since almost all of them do not have the opportunity to come home for the holidays.”
Marge plans to stay involved with the student government organization and hopes to continue next year as well.
Although many of the newly elected student senators have prior experience working in student government, some have not had the opportunity to represent their school in such a way before coming to Mason.
Alli Cromich, a freshman government major, is very excited to work in student government for the first time.
“Student government is essential to the Mason community,” said Cromich. “It’s a way for students to reach out to faculty and staff and speak on behalf of the thousands of students here on what we want to accomplish. I value how much student government cares for the community here at Mason, and how everything we do is on behalf of our diverse community and done to better the university as a whole.”
Although she has not had the chance to be part of this kind of organization before, Cromich is currently an intern for the Rich Anderson political campaign and plans to work in politics.
Photo Courtesy of Caiti Lively
