By Victoria Gill-Gomez
Opinion Editor
Last Friday marked the annual Washington College student class elections for the 2019-2020 academic year. This time, students of the class of 2023 were voting between 16 dedicated candidates down to four positions: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
“Leadership is something that I really value,” freshman Dylan Snow said.
The newly-elected freshman officers are: Noah Vargas, president; Alexandra Solano, vice president; Dylan Snow, treasurer; and Mariama Keita, secretary.
All four newly-elected officials ran together during the campaign under the acronym D.A.M.N.
According to the email sent by the Student Government Association on Sept. 27, there was a 54% voter turnout.
Many of the candidates ran in order to take a stand and have their voices heard. An overwhelming response from all 16 candidates stated that it is easy for freshmen officers to be overlooked and not taken seriously.
“The class of 2023 is full of passionate, thoughtful, and hardworking students whose voices must be heard. I love our class and would do everything in my power to make sure that our overall experience is the best it can be,” 2023 President Vargas said.
Because D.A.M.N.’s focus is more student centric, they also plan to make communication and diversity a priority when addressing problems of the student experience.
According to 2023 Vice President Solano, diversity in a class is important and should be reflected in their executive board. She is also running to help soothe the transition from high school to college for her peers.
“Communication is the main platform I’m working on. I want there to be a strong relationship between officers and students which will be achieved by communication. I believe that through social media and face-to-face interactions there won’t be any barriers between the class officers and the students at WC. I want everyone’s voices heard to accommodate our needs. I’d like to bring my attitude and determination to take on any task presented to me,” 2023 Secretary Keita said.
Keita attended Upper Darby High School near Philadelphia which had 3500 attending students. When looking for colleges to attend, Keita wanted a school where she could know all of her classmates and build relationships with that community. With this communication came the humble desire for openness.
2023 Treasurer Snow also promised to be transparent in communication to his classmates if he got elected.
“I am running based on the phrase ‘for the people.’ I know that’s the cliché answer, but I really want to help our class excel. As Treasurer, I want to bring transparency to the SGA budget process,” Snow said. “Transparency allows all the members of our class to have a say on what our money is used on. After all, the money comes from us, so it only makes sense that we know where it’s going.”
These students find leadership experiences that not only impact the student body on a student government level.
“I feel like leadership doesn’t necessarily require a formal title. I know a lot of people, myself included, that simply lead by example. Serving as someone to look up to but that’s also on your level, and I feel like that sort of ‘down-to-earth’ leadership is what we need as a class,” Snow said.