Senator of the College of Arts and Sciences Candidates 

Q: What is your platform?

A: “I want to promote undergraduate research here at Kent through allocations. When I say that I mean students who are doing undergraduate research should have the money to travel to wherever they’re going to go and present their research. I want to try and rebrand Kent State as a research institute rather than the slogan “Kent read, Kent write, Kent State” because that’s not what we are. So I want to try to promote that especially within the College of Arts and Sciences. So many students whether you’re in neuroscience or computer science or history, there’s a lot of research going on. Students already have the financial burden of just tuition itself, they shouldn’t be having to pay out of pocket to travel to present their research. I was involved in research here myself and it’s your baby. You want to present it and see it flourish. Another thing I want to promote with my platform is improving mental health resources here at Kent and having full SAS accommodations, especially within the college. Being within the College of Arts and Sciences, being here in college at all is such a demanding environment. You have school, work, a bunch of other things going on. You’re not perfect all the time. You feel sad. You feel all these things and we do need better mental health services. I did some research on the mental health services here at Kent and there’s a waitlist to see counselors and therapists. I definitely think Kent State should have more or apply for more funding for that, to have more counselors and therapists available for our students because we are a big campus. The College of Arts and Sciences, a lot of the hardcore professors, they don’t fully accommodate the SAS requirements that students need, especially when a disability is not visible. I think that not all disabilities are visible. The stress that students are feeling, it’s not their fault and their grades shouldn’t suffer as well. Also, I think it’s good to bring the students within the College of Arts and Sciences together. I want to put emphasis on the arts part of the College of Arts and Sciences because a lot of students are in the College of Arts and Sciences are really good at STEM but are some of the students are some of the most artistic and creative people I’ve met. I think promoting socials through arts that would definitely bring our students together. Volunteering and service work have been a big part of my life. I want to further my education to be of service to others. I’m part of the service fraternity here at Kent State, Alpha Phi Omega and we have a hard time. We’re a small organization. We have a hard time reaching out to bigger organizations to collaborate on service events. I’m also part of the Red Cross club here at Kent and we have trouble reaching the quota for pits of blood that we need that we’re donating to a hospital. We have such a big campus and I don’t think we’re focused enough on volunteering in general and being an altruistic campus. With my position, I want to collaborate with USG and other larger organizations on campus with the smaller service-oriented organizations. I think working together towards a common good would really bring our campus together.”

Q: Why should people vote for you?

A: “Students in my college should vote for me because I offer a different perspective. I’m an open-minded person. I try to see things from all different perspectives. I like to think of creative solutions to the problems that we have that are obvious and definitely need to be resolved, especially within the campus and the college itself.” 

Q: What changes are you looking to enact?

A: “I want to work closely with the College of Arts and Sciences faculty that do not fully accommodate students with their SAS accommodations and change that. I want to work closely with faculty to put out Kent State’s mental health resources on their Blackboard. I want to try to make that a requirement. The first class I’ve taken this semester and I’m almost a senior was the first class I’ve seen where they’ve actually put a folder for mental health resources. I want to try to make that as a requirement. I think a lot of students don’t know about Kent State’s mental health resources.”