By Delaney Runge
Copy Editor
Washington College’s Student Government Association is searching for a new
Secretary of Diversity for the 2023-2024 school year.
On Tuesday, Sept. 19, an email titled “Apply for Secretary of Diversity” arrived in WC
students’ inboxes announcing the opening of applications for the role within the SGA.
According to the email from the SGA, “Any full-time student is eligible to apply for an
Executive Board position — no experience or prior membership in the SGA is required.
The Secretary of Diversity shall serve as the student representative and shall promote
and increase diversity, equity and inclusion on campus.”
Senior Hailey Sutton was the previous Secretary of Diversity who served for the
2022-2023 school year. According to Sutton, the role allowed her to provide support to
various clubs on campus.
“It’s nice to have somebody, especially a student, who is kind of at the threshold
between working with faculty and students to cheer you on,” Sutton said.
SGA President junior Miranda Parrish said that the Secretary of Diversity provides
support for groups on-campus, in particular the affinity groups.
“They are a liaison and advocate for affinity groups on the SGA executive board and
on various faculty, staff and administrative committees, and they also host events
throughout the year,” Parrish said.
According to Parrish, for the student body, the Secretary of Diversity “is a crucial role
not only to the function of the executive board, but also for student representation,
support and advocacy” and that the “position holds a respectable and valuable role on
campus and has a great impact on the longevity of the college’s DEI and Strategic
Planning goals.”
Director of Student Engagement and staff advisor for the SGA Antoine Jordan ’12
sees this role within the SGA as “incredibly critical.” DEI has, historically, been more and
more an important part of how the WC community functions.
“Having a student voice and a student representative be part of that change and part
of those efforts to increase diversity on campus is incredibly important,” Jordan said.
Roles within the SGA, especially the Secretary of Diversity, are ways for students to
make sure their own voice as well as their peers are heard.
Jordan emphasized that students on this campus have a large amount of sway when it
comes to running things on campus.
“Having a student chair a committee that represents those efforts is important so that
way we can get student perspective on what they think are important things when it
comes to diversity,” Jordan said.
According to the Washington College website, the SGA is the place for student voices
on campus through its support of clubs and services for the campus.
“We are excited to have a new member on our executive board who will fulfill [the
Secretary of Diversity], as it is an important role,” Parrish said. “We also thank everyone
who applied, and we hope the student body will stay engaged and feel welcome to
approach the executive board at any time — we are here for you.”
Photo Caption: The College’s Student Government Association’s office is located in the bottom
floor of Hodson Hall.
Elm Archive Photo