New senators ready to get the ball rolling

The old school mixes with the new in Senate, despite low voter turnout

Senate elections have finally come to a conclusion. Early Sunday afternoon, votes were tabulated and 10 new senators officially took their seats on Student Senate.

The newly-elected senators are juniors Mary Jo Bates, Jonathan Curley and Jennifer Ok; sophomores Russell Plato, Noah Kirshbaum and Aaron Leavy; and first-years Christian Koch, Sandor Winkler, Camille Newman and Katherine Davoli.

This batch of new blood has high hopes for the future. Their involvement in a wide range of activities should help this semester's senate have a strong foundation.

When asked what provoked them to run, most senators responded like Winkler, who said, "[Oberlin] is not going to be what I want it to be unless I take part in changing it." Davoli's response was similar. "You'd be surprised at the ridiculously large amount of people that complain to me," she said. She, along with most of the other incoming senators, see senate as a mode of improvement for the campus.

Both old and new senators expressed a wide range of goals for this semester, including newcomer Koch. "I've had a few incidents with Residential Life and Services," he said. These unspecified incidents made him decide that he would like to address behavior contracts. He said that he would like to either eliminate or amend them. He also thinks students need to be better informed about the contracts they are signing.

Leavy showed concern with voter turnout. "Look in the recycling box," he said. "I'd like to see a better way for votes to get counted." He was directly aware of this fact because of the last minute acquisition and tabulation of votes for his own senate race. He would also like to see an open-air book-swap to facilitate students' acquisition of textbooks.

Winkler has already observed the power of senate. "Senate has the ability to encourage groups to come together," he said. He stressed his desire to eliminate the separatism he sees on campus by bringing student groups together. He also hopes to bring together the students and faculty and get the two more involved. Safe space was also an issue that he felt needed to be addressed.

Sophomore senator Amy Pandjiris, along with the other old senators, has a multitude of goals for this semester as well. Pandjiris hopes to work with Student Labor Action Coalition to pass a proposal that would target the athletic department and stop the College from purchasing goods made in sweatshops.

The new senators also seem to come from a diverse background. Senators belong to groups including the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Union, the Women's Resource Center board, and La Alianza Latina.