Q&A: Meet the candidates for next year’s Equity & Inclusion Senator

Meet the candidates running for the Equity and Inclusion Senator position for Drake’s Student Senate 2024-2025 session. Voting for all general positions begins at 8 a.m. on April 11 and closes at 8 p.m. on April 12. Results will be announced on Pomerantz Stage at 8:05 p.m. on April 12. If no candidate earns 50% of the vote, runoff elections will be held from 8 a.m. on April 15 to 8 p.m. on April 16.

Two Equity and Inclusion Senators serve on Student Senate. One is elected by the student body, and the other is selected by UNITY Roundtable.

The ballot link will be directly sent to student emails when voting begins.

Trinity Houston

trinity.houston@drake.edu

Instagram: @trinity4ei

Trinity Houston (she/her) is a sophomore majoring in international business and economics with a minor in marketing.

What are your goals for this position? Are there specific issues you hope to address in this position? 

Advocating for accessibility and accountability. My main goal in this position is to raise more awareness towards multicultural orgs, as well as helping create more inclusivity and involvement on campus. I aim to create more partnerships between orgs within [UNITY] to host joint events and bring together more unity on campus. I strive to present a united front within the orgs.

What experience has prepared you for this position?

Being a Crew Scholar as well as a Student Ambassador has greatly helped my leadership and communication skills, but also showed me where I can further help out on campus. To begin, Crew Scholars has taught me many ways to communicate within many different environments on many different things. I have also been able to create spaces for conversations with admin on how to tackle issues on campus. Additionally, being a student ambassador has allowed me to gain more knowledge on campus, as well as how to lead those tough conversations.

How would you make sure you are aware of the needs of the student body, specifically from an equity and inclusion angle?

Being involved with many of the multicultural organizations already, I have been able to become dialed in with the current issues and needs of these organizations. I hope to continue this communication into the position and even use the Crew Scholars program as a way to communicate as well.

Why are you the best person for this position?

I believe I am the best person for this position because ever since my first year, I have been able to dial into the issues people face on campus and have worked to have those conversations to handle those as well. I think the fact that I have also dealt with these issues firsthand and have worked to solve those for future students shows my determination to create unity within the student body and make sure all voices are heard.

How do you plan to balance this role with your other commitments?

The key to balance anything is planning, so it is my goal to plan ahead. I also will have this as my main priority besides school because I am very passionate about helping the student body.

Candidate Lila Khan-Gumm did not respond to an interview request.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.