2015 USG Candidates Guide
Sophomore Olivia Mullen discusses her position in running for Senator of the College of Arts and Sciences at the USG Public Forum in the Nest on Monday, March 2 2015.
Executive Director
Brian Cannon
Junior entrepreneurship major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“Definitely working on the relationship with USG and the administration. We’ve developed some great committees this year, and we want to build off of them. I also want to work on USG as a brand and to help get our name out to there. We’re here to help students, and before next semester even starts, I want to sit with the new USG members before summer starts so once next semester is here, we’ve got the ball rolling.”
What is the most prominent issue facing Kent State students, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“Diversity is a huge issue, and we’ve done a lot of work to confront it. We worked with several focus groups and studied how to address it. I would love to take what we learned there and wrap it into our future plans at USG.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“It’s a complicated thing to address, but the committees we’ve established (Gender-Inclusive Bathrooms/Housing and Diversity Committee) are at the head of working on these issues and collaborating with them to bring it to the forefront of campus and administration.”
Director of Programming
Kevin Otubu
Junior entrepreneurship major
What is the most prominent issue facing Kent State students, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“Most students still don’t know what USG is. People think we’re just the ones who throw concerts, but there’s so many other directors and senators who do many different things. I think we need to get more people knowing what USG is, and I think we’ve definitely done a better job of it this year, and I’ve been an advocate to make sure students know it’s not just shows or concerts. We want to engage interest to see what we’re doing well and what we’re doing wrong.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“As for USG as a whole, this is the most diverse it has ever been. The members here aren’t hesitant to tackle any big issue. The Gender-Inclusive Housing Initiative we just passed is something I have never heard of any other school having, so I hope next year’s board can keep with this and can go even further with issues like this.”
Are there any aspects of USG or your position which you believe need improved during your time in office?
“One thing for my position I want to improve on is student tailgating. It seems people have been going to visit other schools, and we want to get that attendance higher and have more people enjoying themselves at games. If we’re going to be putting money toward it, we should put all our effort into it and make sure everyone’s enjoying it. My goal is to also sell out everything as far as shows and concerts.”
Director of Business and Finance
Colin Otubu
junior finance
What will be your top priority once elected?
“Get the necessary information out for all organizations that this money (allocations) is available for you to spend because a lot of times, it’s the same organizations and a lot do not know that this is available for them. I want to go to every organizations’ meeting and let them know what it is and what we’re here for.”
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“Spend the money in a way that students are benefitting from leadership, hosting programs for the Kent community, etc. If we bring a speaker or an entertainer, that it’s for the betterment of the university and college students and for people to see that this is where the money is going toward. I want students to see the personal gain from it and not just education-wise. It’s available, and it’s here for them.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“Diversity is one of the biggest things nationwide, and we cannot just sit back and say ‘Since we passed one thing, it won’t be an issue anymore.’ We just passed the Gender Inclusive Housing bill last week. It’s making sure people don’t feel left out or feel like they don’t fit in here. We need to reach out to them and make sure we stay on course — whether it’s surveying or polling people to see if it’s improved and making sure we take the proactive steps and make sure their opinion is spoken out loud.”
Director of Governmental Affairs
Domenic Cicchinelli
Junior political science major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“Basically what I do with any legislation that goes through, it is my duty to do what is best with it for Kent State. I really want to students to take advantage of the right to vote. I want to rally up team of people and register as many people to vote as possible. We did this through my fraternity, and I think we can through the university as a whole. I’m close with the spokesman of the Attorney General of Ohio and have a lot of connections down in Columbus and want to use them to represent Kent State adequately.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“I relate it back to my fraternity. We have a very diverse group of guys, so I’ve been around that before. There are so many different individuals on campus, and we want to do what is necessary so that no one feels left out. It’s important to reach out to everyone.”
What do you think can be improved on with USG and campus in general?
“Definitely campus involvement. It seems like I hear too many times that individuals don’t join or get involved in the many opportunities we have. I would like to work with the Director of Student Involvement to work on this and get more students involved. I also want to do a better job about getting the word on involvement out and let students know there are much more options here than just going to class every day.”
Director of Student Involvement
Matthew Chernesky
Sophomore political science major
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“One of the most prominent issues that I’ve heard while talking to students and from campaigning is that they don’t really — it’s not a prominent issue such as student loans or credit cap — but it’s about knowledge of how the process of Undergraduate Student Government works here because not many people know about our elections, not many people know about the positions in USG. And I think it’s a real shame because if you don’t understand what happens and you can’t be a voice of what happens and you can’t be a member of that change itself. And so I think that if elected, I will as Director of Student Involvement, I would work with what my voting reforms to help make — to advertise elections better and to introduce USG to freshmen during their Welcome Weekend here, so that in their years to come, they will understand what USG is, what it stands for and the goals and responsibilities of it.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“The way that we should handle the growing prominence of diversity on campus is through dialogue. Being on UDAC (University Diversity Action Council), I realized and understood that through dialogue we can accomplish change, and we can better equip ourselves to handle growing diversity. And so, I think that we should do within USG primarily, as Director of Student Involvement, I would establish dialogue with our multicultural students and understand where they’re coming from, and what their concerns are — if they have any ideas, because if we don’t have that dialogue that takes place, then we won’t be able to effectively combat these issues that diversity poses to our campus that is not equipped to handle them.”
What makes you a representative of the student body?
“I’m a representative of the student body because I go through the same struggles that you do: I walk to class in subzero temperatures; I suffer from immense amounts of debt; and I put my pants on one leg at a time just like you. And I want to be an advocate for you, and that I want to make USG more representative of what you want our student government to do.”
Director of Student Involvement
Jonathan Benjamin
Junior marketing major
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“One thing that I have learned is that things don’t always go according to plan. Getting everybody on the same page is probably one of the hardest things of any kind of leadership division. Communication really is key.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“I think the big thing for everybody is graduating on time. With the forum, with what the candidates were saying and from what I have been hearing around campus and the current campaign that the university has set with the ‘Got 15?’ initiative. Making sure people are taking what they need to be taking and doing what they need to be to doing so that they can graduate in the least amount of time possible with something lucrative and worthwhile. That doesn’t directly fall into the student involvement category, but being a part of USG, I think I can lend my support towards USG decisions and making sure people are getting the best education they can.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“I would definitely stress being open minded. The world is changing and new norms are becoming more and more acceptable. Not getting stuck in the past with previous biases and attitudes and really just being open to discuss new things.”
Director of Student Involvement
Cirstie Delguzzo
Junior criminology and justice studies major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“I would like to work with Student Success Programs to encourage freshmen to get involved on campus. I took the student success leader training course, now called peer leader training workshop. After completion of this course, I worked with with the Destination Kent State programs for a year, where I worked Welcome Weekend and was a teaching assistant for a First Year Experience course. In the peer leader training course, I would like to see peer leaders encourage first-year students to get involved. What I would like to make happen is each First Year Experience teaching assistant to be required to give a presentation on student involvement.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“Students do not take advantages of the resources we have, which results in less successful students. There are tons of helpful resources on our campus. The Academic Success Center is a great resource for students to get help, like free tutoring. UCommute helps any student that do not live on campus get engaged at Kent State. I would like to get the word out about these resources and work with them one on one to have them implement student involvement.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“From the day I took a campus tour, I fell in love with Kent State. What I like most about being a student here is how at home I feel and how welcoming everyone is. Spending your life — four years — where you’ve never been before can be scary, but I could not be happier with my decision to become a Golden Flash.”
Director of Academic Affairs
James Flanagan
Sophomore integrated social studies major
What will be your top priority once you get elected?
“I really want the higher ups to know that it’s becoming increasingly more expensive and difficult to graduate on a five-year plan — which basically becomes a necessity after one major change, even if it’s a small one or a big one and it’s just not necessary for a five-year plan to be necessary for students.”
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“I want to try to make people aware that a five-year plan isn’t necessary. I really want to voice the students’ opinion that’s the whole reason I want it. I don’t want this position to get my name or anything like that; I just want the students to be happy with their time in college.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“My favorite thing is actually the Greek life. If I hadn’t gone Greek, I wouldn’t be sitting here giving this interview, I wouldn’t be running for this position, I wouldn’t be half the person I am without Greek life.”
Director of Academic Affairs
Kevin Heller
Senior conservation major
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“I have three goals once I’m in office. First, I want to decrease the tuition rate increase. So if tuition raises 3 percent per year, what I want to do (is) work with President Beverly Warren on decreasing the rate of tuition increase. For example, over a five-year period, we could do a 3 percent increase, then a 2.5 percent increase and eventually having a bottoming-out percent. Second, I want to help bring professionals to Kent State for different areas and departments to speak to the students about where they were and where they successfully are now. These professionals will give students some hope about finding a career they’re passionate about after graduation. Third, I want to cross-train classes. I want to create an upper-division class where two different majors work together. These classes will not only help with diversity, but it will help different departments get to know each other. It is best if we all work together and cross-train classes to create projects like we would in the real world.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“The idea of being a student is what I feel like is the most prominent. We are losing track of who we are as a generation. We are working overtime. We have families and friends. We have schooling, and we have internships. Everything is coming together on top of us. We are forgetting how to be students, so we need to come back and really focus on this. You need to be proactive in this age. We as students need to understand that school experiences should come first, which relates back to my original goals. Students should get to know each other and the faculty, and we should bring in professionals to stir up dreams and instill passion in students. I promise to spread to the student body to just be a student.”
What makes you a representative of the student body?
“I’ve been at this university for five years. I feel like I not only represent Kent State, but Kent in general. I went to Kent Roosevelt High School, I’ve lived here and my mom works here in Kent. Kent is the heart of me. If I feel like I can represent Kent as a whole, then I know I can be a good representative for the Kent State student body. Also, being in so many different departments helps me understand the needs and lives of students here at Kent and what aspects are affecting them today. I just want everyone to know that I understand, I hear your calls and I hear your voices. I hear them being raised up about different issues that affect us academically and those that don’t. With that, I hear those needs, and with my resources and networking, I’m there to serve the body of this campus in the best way possible.”
Director of Communications
Kaitlyn Mckee
Sophomore exploratory major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“My top priority is definitely engaging with the students here at Kent State University. I think that is one of the first parts of being the Director of Communications. I think that there are so many awesome things at Kent that students can be a part of, and I think that they need to get the most out of their four years. Just getting information out to them, discussing with them their opinions on things, that’s probably going to be my main focus, just making sure that issues they have are addressed and they are happy with everything and know what USG does.”
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“I believe it’s important to be consistent when I’m talking to people. I think that engaging with them and relating to them on their level and focusing on things that are important to them will help me because they want these things taken care of or are interested in something and me putting my all into trying to help them will definitely, I think that will help them be more interested in what I’m doing and relate to me more and help become a stronger community at Kent.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“There is a lot of things that I would need to partner with the community and student advancement just like gender. I know the gender bathrooms was a big accomplishment they had last semester. It’s ongoing, so I think I definitely want to take it under my wing and continue with that and just address any problems that student have, and I think that the gender-neutral bathroom is a great way to kind of go off of that and then branch off into some other things that students kind of tell me about or that they’re interested in. I know a lot of classes are interested in a lot of things, and I can definitely take that and help with that.”
Director of Community Affairs
Darold Ehrmantrout
Junior biology major
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“One huge thing is participation from others, so the rest of the USG group I’m going to need help from that, and I’m also going to need word of mouth from the students as far as what they want and see what I can do.”
What makes you a representative of the student body?
“I know quite a few people especially in the Greek community. I’ve had a few leadership positions in my fraternity, and most people say I’m easy to get along with. I’m pretty decent at getting people to participate in things.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“Kent was the first place I toured, and as soon as I took a look around and I loved the campus. I think it’s beautiful. I like how most of the people here are very friendly and easy to get to know, so it’s not that hard to make friends, and the professors are nice as well.”
Director of Student Advancement
Keri Richmond
Sophomore public relations major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“One of the great things about the position is that you have a lot of freedom to attack issues you’re passionate about. One thing I want to implement is an alumni-student mentoring program… I work at the student liaison office, and people come in that want to interact or help. With that program, it can make sure students can interact with professionals before entering the professional world.”
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“Last semester interning, fundraising and advocating with the group Together We Rise, my definition of leadership evolved. It’s not about titles or power. It’s about people — not what you have to say. That’s my leadership style.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“Retention… it’s an ongoing issue at KSU. Have seen many separate points of views, alumni, getting freshman involved right when they get here and finding connections when students get here, and that’s what it’s all about. Finding what you’re passionate about, whether it’s an organization or cause. We want to work on student involvement.”
Director of Student Advancement
Matthew High
Sophomore biological sciences major
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“Aside from the actual position itself, I would really like to encourage younger and older students who haven’t gotten involved with the Undergraduate Student Government to look into it and realize how valuable their voice is. I know that when I was a freshman, I didn’t even know what USG was, and I heard about it from one of my fraternity brothers and I realized how much they actually do on campus and how much power they’re able to hold. That’s my biggest goal: to encourage people to get involved with USG.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“I’d say that the most prominent issue is the lack of communication between the heads of the university and the student body. I feel like the students don’t have a direct line to the people in charge. They always have to go through someone else to get their ideas across, and it can be a really time-consuming process.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“I would say the relationships that you can build randomly. You can only be on the campus two years, and I’ve formed some of the best relationships that I know are going to last and go beyond college. Everyone is in the same boat…meeting new people for the first time and stepping out of their comfort zones. Nobody is at home, so they don’t have the basis of what they’re used to so everyone is on the same playing field. They can all figure out what’s best for them and their own pathway through life.”
Senator for the College of Arts and Sciences
Olivia Mullen
Sophomore zoology major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“I feel like with Arts and Sciences being the largest college on Kent State’s campus is a huge feat to achieve. Keeping it united and keeping communication going smoothly is the only way we can successfully tackle conflicts and solve them.”
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“I love all of the student organizations I am in. I do think wholeheartedly; I don’t beat around the bush with anything. Applying for USG, I know this is something I want to do wholeheartedly, to promote my leadership, to show that I’m not just a biology student with a Greek background.I have shown interest in joining other clubs (biology club, to name one), but I wanted to focus on applying for USG and keeping in turn with my sorority. I just got a job as a campus manager for an apparel company, so I am very tied up with other student organizations inside and outside of my college.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“Being a woman, applying for Undergraduate Student Government, it may not seem like a huge deal because of the advances in women’s leadership roles, but it is a huge achievement that there are a lot of women applying for USG.”
Senator for the College of Arts and Sciences
Ryan McCarthy
Sophomore political science major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“As I said in my speech, my top priority is doing something about sexual assault on campus and also making USG a medium through which we tackle the issue. What my plan is, is to implement an online program consisting of video segments (with) questions and an assessment at the end to make sure people, all students, receive education and training (to) prevent and respond to sexual assault. What I want to do is make sure as many people get this program as possible to have it implemented as a part of the curriculum for all First Year Experience courses, so that every incoming freshman receives this type of training. For transfer students, we can work it into some similar ALEKS program so that they receive it as well, eventually resulting in a campus where all students are trained, educated and eventually responding to sexual assault and harassment, creating a campus that is safer for everyone.”
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“A safer campus for all students and to make USG something that looks out for the best interest of students. I also want to bridge the gap between USG and students. Through going through my signatures, I needed 230, and talking to those people, 75 percent of the response was ‘We don’t know what that (USG) is.’ So USG is pretty important in terms of the student because if you’re an in-state student, $20 of your money goes to where I say it does, and if you’re out-of-state, $35 dollars. So it is important. It’s not the typical grade school-high school student council. It’s more in-depth. We need to work on bridging the gap between USG and students, as well as (bridging the gap between) USG and student organizations.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
”I think one of the main issues, at least academically, is the growing difficulty in graduating on time in four years. We have a credit cap of 16 hours. I don’t know of any university in the state that has a credit cap that low. If you need to change your major or you miss something, there’s not much you can do except take an extra semester, so I hope that President Warren is serious about removing the credit cap, or at least putting it to 18 credit hours at the very least, so that we can make graduating on time more of a reality than it has been.”
Senator for the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology
Kristen Boye
Junior aeronautics major
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“I was a ROTC student for two years, so my different positions within the cadet wing helped me realize that in order to be a leader, you have to be a follower first. Leading takes a great amount of positivity and determination, and to be a good leader, you have to know how to make change, how make friends and be authoritative. I also learned that you have to make sure you’re in command and in charge but to make sure the environment is loose.”
What makes you a representative for the college you represent?
“I am an aeronautical studies major. I am heavily involved in aviation. Although the college is not just about aviation, I have a lot of friends who are engineering majors and a few of my family members are engineers, so I feel I have both perspectives on everyone in the college and understand their take on things. Also, I am very friendly to everyone. I try my best to make a friend with everyone. I am involved in Kent State’s air traffic control organization, Women of Aviation, sec (secretary) of international aviation fraternity. I’m basically involved with everything; I try to have my foot in everything. I want to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity and that their voices are heard. Also, I hope that everyone is getting a positive experience out of the College of Technology.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“I like that Kent State isn’t too small, but it’s not too big. I like the fact that I’m only a junior, and I know a lot of new people and I’ll continue to spread my friendship throughout the campus. It’s nice to be able to walk through campus and see familiar faces. It’s like when you were in high school, you walk through the hallway, it’s like the same kind of thing. I just feel so welcomed. I like the atmosphere here at Kent State.”
Senator of the College of Education, Health and Human Services
Karlee Varney
Sophomore pre-human development and family studies major
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“I think USG will work with programs that are with diversity, like BUS and other programs like that, because they are important and to hear their voices, it would be a great opportunity.”
What makes you a representative for the college you represent?
“I think I’ve been pretty involved in my college. My college is all about helping people and getting involved with people, and that’s what I do best. I think I would be a very good voice for the college.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“I like all of the opportunities that we have. Kent is always growing, and there are always opportunities to do fun things, like FlashFest that USG puts on, and there’s a bunch of clubs and organizations. That’s what I like most about Kent State.”
Senator for the College of the Education, Health and Human Services
Kathleen Piascik
Senior human development and family studies major
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“I’ve learned a lot of things from previous leadership positions. I think some of the most important things to learn is you can make the best plan, but at the end of the day, something’s always going to go wrong and the way that you handle what goes wrong really shows what kind of leader you are. I think that you need to remember to not let the little things get to you because there’s always going to be someone that doesn’t agree with what you have to say. But you have to trust in yourself as a leader that you know what the best thing is going to be for the people that you are representing because that is your number one job as a leader.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“I think that one of the most prominent issues at Kent State would be diversity. We are a very large and a very diverse campus, and I think that a lot of the time, certain students may not feel like they fit in, and I think being able to make it so that all students feel like they have somewhere they can go, whether it’s a club or activity or even just a special class they enjoy in their major, making sure that everybody feels connected to Kent State and everybody wants to come back to Kent State and stay here for their four years and be active as an alum as well.”
What makes you a representative for the college you represent?
“I’ve had the experience of being within two separate majors within my college when I first transferred into Kent State. I was a sign language interpreting major, and then I transferred to human development and family studies, so I have a lot of experience with different academic advisers, as well as different faculty and staff, changing between those two majors. I think it gives me a good sense of what some of the overlying issues are in the college. There are four different sections of four different schools within EHHS, and they’re all pretty diverse. We range from athletic training to education to sign language interpreting. There’s a lot of diversity within our group and I think that we need to become more cohesive together.”
Senator for the College of Education, Health and Human Services
James Smith
Junior exercise science major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“I would like to work with the Director of Academic Affairs and see if we can help with scheduling the classes. I know my major in particular, exercise science, along with some other majors across campus, their classes get filled up before they can register for them and they don’t get the classes they need and they have to be here longer. They are not insured for graduation simply because classes are closed out so I would like to see what options there are for that, offering more classes, more faculty to teach at different times or whatever it may be. I also think appealing to transfer students as well, people who change their majors inside the College of EHHS — that is something that the current girl who has this position is focused on and that is something that I want to continue.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity-related issues on campus?
“I think Kent State does a good job appealing to other students who are more diverse. I think one of the issues that although the students can make it on campus and stuff, I don’t think they get enough involvement from American students who are just maybe aren’t the same as them in terms of religious views, cultural views. I think there should be more organizations to help with minority students becoming involved, having a voice on-campus, feeling more appreciated because I feel they kinda just stick to what they know, and they don’t get a full American experience or a culturally diverse experience.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“I really like how large of a school Kent State is. I have always wanted to go to a large school and this is the second largest in the state, and Kent State is a great school. I would consider it a perfect school. I love everything about it, and I like how involved Greek life is, how the university is pretty balanced in terms of research and undergraduate programs. I mean it is a D-1 school in terms of athletics and research. It is not 100 percent focused on research. It is not 100 percent focused on the undergraduate programs. They divided it up nicely. You really get the best of everything I feel here.”
Senator for the College of Communication and Information
Reginald Jones
Junior communication studies major
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“I hope to accomplish that the different schools know about opportunities happening in the other schools. I also want people to know more about the new student ambassador program inside the College of Communication and Information.”
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“I have learned that is important to have meetings with not only the people are in leadership positions above me but to also talk with the regular students to get their opinions and input on our decisions before we actually make them.”
What are the most prominent issues facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“I feel that the most prominent issue facing students is that they don’t feel like they are a part of an organization or that they don’t feel like they are a part of Kent State. That’s why as a member of USG, I will push certain programs and organizations to encourage students to get more involved on campus.”
Senator for the College of Business Administration
Molly Phelps
Senior managerial marketing major
What have you learned from previous leadership positions?
“From previous leadership positions, I’ve learned that listening to what people have to say is the most important. How can you make changes if you don’t listen to the people who want to be heard?”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“I think one of the bigger issues not only Kent State students deal with but all college students is jobs once you graduate. I think if students were to realize the resources we have, especially in the College of Business (Administration), we wouldn’t have this issue. We have our own Career Services office in the building. I would like to promote this, so students realize the resources we have for them to help in their future.”
What makes you a representative for the college you represent?
“I am extremely involved within the College of Business (Administration). Since my freshman year, I have been involved in organizations. For example, not only am I in two orgs in the College of Business (Administration), I work with freshmen students as an SSL for College of Business (Administration) students. I work with different age groups, so I’m not only with my age group all the time.”
Senator for the College of Business Administration
Courtney Glenn
Junior managerial marketing major
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“One thing that I would like is to make the position a lot more approachable to the College of Business (Administration) students. Making sure that at my office hours, I’m not just sitting there but that students are able to come in and talk to my about their concerns. I want to make sure that there are events implemented within the College of Business (Administration) that can help our students with job placement and career possibilities….”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“I think a big issue is making sure everyone feels connected to the university. I know I did as an incoming freshman by getting involved, and I want to make sure everyone is able to get connected as a student and as an alumni. Like I said, the College of Business (Administration) is very important to me. It has brought me a lot of really good opportunities. As senator, I would like to make sure I can provide just as many opportunities to students. Making the business organizations are all connected to each other and accessible for recruitment.”
What makes you a representative for the college you represent?
“I am a junior in the managerial marketing program, so I have taken a wide variety of business classes from accounting to business management. I can be a really good resource with different classes I am taking. I know the struggle students can have taking the classes, and I am facing the same problems and concerns of finding a job after graduation. I’ve had a lot of leadership experience. I can use the knowledge to implement these things. I am conducting a research study on a College of Business (Administration) program. Hopefully with the findings, I can talk to the dean and decision makers to increase our job placement after graduation.”
Senator for the College of Business Administration
Joshua Shank
Junior marketing major
What will be your top priority once elected?
“My top priority (once) elected will be to establish one of my main points of a platform, which is to install the laptop rentals, which since we have tech spot at the College of Business (Administration), we can rent laptops to students then clear the hard drives when we are done. Basically the university can make money and students benefit off of it, but we can also spread the idea to other colleges and universities.”
What do you hope to accomplish while in office?
“There’s five things I hope to accomplish. I hope to accomplish networking between students in the College of Business (Administration). I know it’s one of the priorities of the College of Business (Administration); it’s all about who you know. Keeping up with classroom repairs. And then for just the community kind of service the College of Business (Administration) does. And events: keep those traditional every year for the events we have. Help students with events to raise money. Get the opinions of everybody. Social media partnership: Since the College of Business (Administration) is lacking in social media, I want to partner with the Wall Street Journal. They are kind of always around; it’s a known news article. If we kind of collaborate, they are one of the most accredited business media outlets out there and would help pull College of Business (Administration) out of the stone age. The ProctorU testing labs: All the teachers are going there now. If we could expand on that to reduce student wait time; maybe build another lab. Competition between students with — have grades to where they are competitive. It’s kinda how you get your jobs. If we could make that worthwhile for the students, that would be ideal.”
What is the most prominent issue facing students at Kent State, and how can you address that as a member of USG?
“The main problem is the lack of communication in student involvement. Through USG, I know the few of the people in the student involvement, and I can work and collaborate with them to get more students involved. We have a lot to offer, so getting them in groups as soon as they get here and communicate about events.”
Senator for the Honors College
Beatrice Cahill-Camden
Freshman international relations
What will be your top priority once elected?
“I gave a speech recently, and I kind of touched upon two topics that are basically the main points of my platform. The first one is attempting to work with the efforts that Beverly Warren has put forth regarding the credit hour cap. I really want to fight to get that removed. That’s basically my main push. But another thing I want to fight for is raising awareness and working with preventative measures regarding campus safety, especially sexual assault. I want people to be more open to talk about it to really get an action put forth to prevent that from happening.”
How will USG handle the growing prominence of diversity related issues on campus?
“Me being a girl, I think I would like to see more women be in leadership positions. I know that President Beverly Warren is an awesome example of that, and I know she really pushes athletics for girls. Being involved with athletics for example, is a really great character builder and a great outlet for men and women. Kent is also really fighting for a representation of members from the LGBTQ community and I think that’s amazing, and I feel really passionate for that subject. Having a growing community of LGBTQ members is really awesome as that’s one of the fastest growing minority communities on campuses across the nation. Any opportunity we can have a voice heard that’s not the average voice in any situation, I’d totally fight for as well.”
What do you like most about being a student at Kent State?
“I feel so strongly about Kent State because I actually grew up on campus. My mother is a full-time professor at Kent State University, and my father went to Kent State, and my older sister is a senior at Kent State, so I have such a close tie to this college. I’m so proud to be a member of Kent State because this is like my family school. So when I represent the Honors College, I don’t just represent the Honors College, but I represent Kent State as a huge part in my life, and it has been for 19 years.”