First-Year Senator Q&A: voting begins this weekend
Meet the First-Year Senator candidates for the 37th session of the Drake Student Senate. Voting begins at 8 a.m. on Sept. 28 and closes at 8 p.m. on Sept. 29. If no candidate earns 50% of the vote, runoff elections will be held at 8 a.m. on Oct. 2 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 3.
Elliot Nelson
Instagram: @elliotnelson4studentsenate
Why did you decide to run for First-Year Senator?
“I really wanted to run for First-Year Senator because I felt like it gave me a platform to advocate for my peers. [It’s also] an extension of some things that I did in high school [that] I was really passionate about. But above all, it just gives me a chance to help people.”
What experiences have prepared you for this role?
“In high school, I was my student body’s president and then I was fortunate enough to serve as [president of the] Iowa Association of Student Councils. So I have a nice amount of training, but also I have a lot of growth that I can experience from the diversity and culture here at Drake.”
What’s your campaign platform?
“I have six different pillars of my platform. I have connection and collaboration, so I essentially want to be an approachable person that people can talk to, and they can really elevate their concerns to me and then I’ll have them voiced to the Student Senate. The second part of that is activism and advocacy. Once I hear these concerns, I’m going to take them directly to the source so we can solve them. I want to make a solution with you. And then my final ones are engagement and enjoyment because obviously college is a time to enjoy yourself and to really allow yourself to grow in your environment. I really want to make sure that the activities we put on here, all the events, everything we do here at Drake is designed towards you.”
What would you bring to the Student Senate?
“I’ve developed the skills necessary from my previous experiences, but also I think I bring a willingness to learn from those around me, because ultimately, Drake is a diverse campus. It has every type of person, and I would be willing to learn from every single person that’s involved in the process.”
Editor’s note: Elliot Nelson is a Times-Delphic staff member.
Charlie Schueppert
Instagram: @charlieschueppert4senate
Why did you decide to run for First-Year Senator?
“I value inclusivity at Drake University. I served on our student leadership board in high school and wanted to bring my expertise to the Student Senate. An inclusive environment is key to bringing fellow students’ thoughts and ideas forward. I want to serve as a liaison between the student body and the administration. Drake has blessed me with so many wonderful opportunities. I want to repay this by serving the class of 2027.”
What experiences have prepared you for this role?
“I was involved with the student council in high school. However, we noticed that our student council was not effective. We needed to revive the school spirit. So, we decided to revamp our student council to include students from all aspects of campus life. The student leadership board, Vianney United, consisted of elected representatives and faculty-appointed students in various pillars of the school: clubs, activities, ambassadors, athletics and campus ministry. We implemented new ideas to foster school spirit. For example, on the first Friday of every month, we had a school assembly. During this assembly, we hosted class competitions including tug-of-war, an obstacle course and even turkey bowling during November. I want to bring these ideas of inclusivity to Drake. I want to hear ideas and values from the entire student body.”
What’s your campaign platform?
“I value inclusivity. I want everyone to be a part of the Student Senate. While not everyone can be a voting member, it is my goal to bring everyone’s suggestions to the Senate. I want to be a bridge between the student body and the administration. Specifically, I will have office hours regularly throughout the week for students to drop in and voice their concerns or just to say hi. I plan to send out an email every month to update my fellow classmates on ideas being implemented and updates from the Student Senate. I believe communication in leadership positions is crucial. I will also create and organize events to bring our class together as a whole.”
What would you bring to the Student Senate?
“I am passionate about bringing people together for a good cause. Whether the cause was school spirit, community service or just camaraderie, creating an inclusive event where all feel welcome and can share in friendship and purpose was what my passion became by my senior year in high school. Being heard, respected and involved helped bring out the best in everyone. Finding a way to make this happen was not a one-person job. It took teamwork, cooperation and dedication. I learned a lot about the importance of leadership as well as how to be a leader during student government experiences.
I collaborated with fellow students, faculty and staff to bring fun activities and service-oriented activities to campus. During Homecoming Week, we hosted a variety of fun events for the students. We organized a teacher dunk tank, gave away Chick-fil-A biscuits during study hall and hosted an outdoor Homecoming dance. I was a member of our semi-annual blood drive team, which I became the leader of by my senior year. This involved promotion, staffing the event and making sure the event ran smoothly. This required a great deal of organization and collaboration, which I would bring to Drake’s Student Senate.”
Myles Strait
Instagram: @myles.style2023
Why did you decide to run for First-Year Senator?
“I always knew once I came to college that I wanted to be involved in that kind of student government. So when I found out that there was an opportunity for me as a first-year, like a specific position just [catered] to that, I knew automatically that is where I can start. And that’s how I can begin my dream of wanting to participate in the government.”
What experiences have prepared you for this role?
I come from a high school with a gravely ineffective student government in terms of genuine advocacy for their studentsAfter multiple attempts to reach out to my student council, all of which resulted in the issues being dismissed, I set off to fix the issues myself. I was a co-founder and co-leader of my school’s first Asian Cultural Appreciation club, a club in which we would learn about varying cultures within Asia, often bringing in students who want to share their customs and traditions with us. Many of these students would come to me and thank me for letting them share about their culture, and that they feel like less of an outsider when they’re participating in the group. I also established a safety network for many of the closeted students within my high school. These experiences have helped prepare me for this role because I know what it means to not be advocated for and I know what it means to have my issues be ignored, rather than addressed. These are the reasons why I am running, because I know that I can solve the problems that conflict with the well-being of the students. After all, I’ve been doing it for years now!
What’s your campaign platform?
“What I’m seeing right now is that we definitely need to destigmatize the Drake Neighborhood community, because when I came here, I was always told that the neighborhood was super sketchy and that it was a really dangerous place. But of course, I go outside of the campus and I’m walking around, and I’m seeing this is not a dangerous community. This is just a Black community, and that’s what puts people off. So I definitely want to incorporate more of that community into Drake activities, make them feel like they’re not outsiders but a part of the actual Drake community.
I also wanted to talk about just communication as a whole. I feel like there is definitely a lot of communication that happens at Drake, but there isn’t one center point where all of that information comes together. I feel like there’s all these different organization Instagram’s, but like no place for them all to put their one idea or their one schedule. I feel like it’s very hard for students to know what’s happening unless they’re hearing it from a friend of a friend. I definitely want to try and kind of conglomerate that into maybe a page on the myDrake website where you can see all of the events coming up for the month.”
What would you bring to the Student Senate?
“I like to call myself a triple threat in most cases. I am definitely a part of the LGBT [community], I’m [a person of color] and I’m a [first-generation] student, so I feel like I can attest and advocate for that wide variety of students. […] I can relate to a big majority of the student body when it comes to problems that I feel like not a lot of students would understand on [Senate]. If there’s a person they can come and talk to about anything, I feel like I can be that person because it’s just so easy for me to relate to their issues.”
Emerson Whittemore
Instagram: @emwhittemore4fys
Why did you decide to run for First-Year Senator?
“It’s really important for me to know that all the Drake students here have a voice, so I want to work to be able to put everybody’s opinions together and have a space where everybody feels comfortable and [trusts] me to make Drake their home.”
What experiences have prepared you for this role?
“I was my high school student council president, National Honor Society president and then I went to the American Legion Auxiliary Minnesota Girls State. I was the Secretary of State there. So I know how to function in a group of leaders and how to work to make the community better.”
What’s your campaign platform?
“I want to start by just making sure that all first-years feel a sense of community here. I know that navigating the college experience can be really difficult [for] people and so just making sure that we as first-years feel comfortable. From there, I think knowing what first-years want to change on campus and making sure that everybody feels heard [can ensure] that we can make that happen together.”
What would you bring to the Student Senate?
“I went to a really diverse high school. I got to learn a lot there and hear from a lot of people from different backgrounds. We had a decent international student capacity too, so I think that I could just bring a lot of different perspectives. I have some connections here on campus. I’m in a sorority, and I have formed connections here that I think can bring a lot of people together.
Vote for me if you’d like to have your voice heard. I’m big on listening, I love to listen to people. I just want to be somebody that is a familiar face that people can trust, [that] people can not only feel comfortable going to but genuinely want to speak to about their problems and genuinely know that their problems are going to be heard.”
All Q&A’s have been edited for clarity and length.