The Undergraduate Student Government swore in the 12 fall election winners at the second meeting of the semester on Sept. 26.
The newly elected general council members and their roles are:
First-Year Engagement Senator: Anakin Yang
First-Year Policy Senator: Martial Pen
Second-Year Engagement Senator: Mara Ashton
Second-Year Policy Senator: Taslim Olad
Junior Engagement Senator: Ryan Eatchel
Senior Engagement Senator: Nick Austin
VP of Admin Affairs: Sreeja Thirukkovalur
VP of Finance: Tabetha Bowes
Commuter Senator: Sumaya Dhimbil
Greater MN Senator: Liz Alvarez
Out-of-State Senator: Renee Nies
Neighborhood Senator: Ingrid Hoiseth
Guest Speaker
Jerome Benner, the director of neighborhood and community relations and representative of Civic Engagement Voter Engagement & Advocacy, attended the meeting to discuss his university positions.
As director of neighborhood and community relations, one of Benner’s main jobs is establishing partnerships with the university and the surrounding community.
At times, this role has Benner communicating with St. Thomas neighbors about students’ behavior.
Benner provided a few suggestions on how students can be better neighbors to other St. Paul residents.
“Move your cars. If you’re going to have parties, just make sure you are inside by ten,” Benner said, “We want you to have a good time. This is college, but there are also people with little kids and people who go to bed at like 8 p.m. It’s important to be mindful of your gatherings.”
In addition to serving the community surrounding St. Thomas, Benner works with CEVEA to unite the University of St. Thomas community in civic engagement efforts, especially regarding the election, including:
-Educating the campus community about advocacy activities and sharing resources that support advocacy and voter education
-Creating a university-wide calendar of civic engagement activities
-Understanding the legalities of 501(c)3 status as it relates to civic engagement
-Advertising and supporting civic engagement events and activities
-Engaging and supporting external partners’ advocacy efforts
-Connecting faculty to civic engagement research opportunities
CEVEA holds many events to encourage students and faculty to vote. Only 53.4% of St. Thomas students voted in 2020, and it hopes this will go up for the 2024 election.
“St. Thomas does a phenomenal job at making sure people get registered, but we also have to make sure people get out to vote,” Benner said.
To accomplish this goal, Benner and others are assessing St. Thomas’ voting locations.
Currently, there are two voting locations. One is in McNeely Hall and one is off-campus in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood.
“We want to work on potentially shifting the voting precincts to increase voting accessibility for St. Thomas students,” Benner said.
Cecilia Wallace can be reached at wall1238@stthomas.edu.