Maggie Dougherty
News Editor
At around 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, the Student Government Association (SGA) inducted three new at-large senators: Toshiko Tanaka ’19, Cesar Lopez ’21 and Yuxuan Ke ’21. The new members will be filling the vacancies created by three other senators’ decisions to step down this semester for individual personal reasons. SGA Secretary Emilee McCubbins elaborated on the at-large senator position, saying, “The responsibilities of an at-large senator are very similar to that of a class senator; they are responsible for reaching out to their constituents and working to improve Wooster, but instead of having one class to represent, they serve as a catch-all representative.”
According to McCubbins, the three inductees were unanimously confirmed in a brief executive SGA session, in which all non-voting members left the room so that the existing senators could discuss and confirm the applicants.
While the SGA Consitution — which McCubbins noted has not been updated since 2012 — does not give specific guidelines on the application process, eight SGA members formed a membership committee to review the applications they received. On the process, McCubbins stated, “I sent out an application and email to the classes of 2019, 2020 and 2021. We received 30 applicants, far more than anticipated, and whittled it down to three final choices through a name blind viewing and discussion of each application.”
The three new senators all expressed their desire to provide minority representation as motivators for applying for the position. Tanaka, a senior communications and studio art double major, is the public relations contact for the African Student Union, as well as a member of the Black Student Association, the Black Women’s Organization and the International Student Association.
“I wanted to take a more active role. I am a part of all these minority organizations and [having been] at the College for almost four years; it would be an understatement to say I have grasped the experiences of minority students. I want to be able to speak on behalf of my groups, and hopefully they have the same confidence in me,” Tanaka said on her decision to apply for the senator position.
She continued discussing her goals for her new role, stating, “As an SGA officer, I want to be able to input commentaries on policies that affect these organizations I am a part of, because often enough it’s difficult to realize another’s perspective and how impactful certain decisions are. If I can be a part of the negotiation process, that helps. So not only do I plan to ensure that my perspective as a minority and international student is accounted for, and [those of] others like me, but I plan to also familiarize myself with the constitutions in place, and to be able to relay that to my fellow members within my community.”
Ke, a business economics and East Asian studies double major, echoed Tanaka’s sentiments for advocating for international student perspectives. As an international student, a member of Asian Supporters in Action and the budget director for the International Education Week Committee, she explained, “I’ve been seeing misunderstandings between international and domestic groups. I hope to advocate for an increase in general acknowledgement of the diverse global cultures represented in campus, and encourage the international community to voice out by providing them a safer place.”
Lopez, who is majoring in sociology and minoring in psychology, is motivated by his desire to bring more queer student representation to SGA. In addition to being involved with the Organization of Latin American Students and the First Generation Student Organization, Lopez is a member of the Queer Student Union and one of the co-presidents of the Queer People of Color group on campus. On what he hopes to do as a senator, Lopez said, “I’m trying to find ways to continue building relationships with other queer students and between both of the queer organizations, while finding ways SGA can advocate for issues and concerns that come up as we begin having necessary conversations.”
Lopez has already begun advocating for queer students on campus. He described an issue he has been working on, stating, “I’ve begun collaborating with another senator, Robin Perry, who is working on changing and introducing new pamphlets to the Wellness Center that are up to date and more effective at communicating information.”
Like Lopez, all of the at-large senators will be able to pursue issues that interest them. McCubbins explained, “As for activities they will be involved in, it really comes down to their personal passions. One of the things I love about SGA is the opportunity to pursue the passion projects you have in a productive, guided way, and after reviewing our three new senators, I have the utmost faith that they’ll be a good fit to our Senate and will delve into the issues they discussed in their individual applications.”
Monét Davis, SGA president, matched McCubbins’ optimism about the new additions to the group. “I am really excited about Toshiko, Cesar and Yuxuan joining the Student Government Association. I think they all bring diverse and fresh perspectives to SGA,” said Davis. “I think they have been true leaders on this campus for quite a while and I am looking forward to seeing how they incorporate their skills and knowledge into their senator positions.”
All three of the new senators stressed their hopes that they would be seen as approachable, and that students would feel welcome coming to them as advocates for student concerns. “I would hope that people see me as a friendly face that is easily approachable. I want to have more conversations about things that can ease all our experiences. I do not want to simply speak for myself alone or about the circumstances that are familiar to me alone but I am open to hear about everyone else’s as well,” Tanaka stated.