After much consideration, I have decided to withdraw my name from the race for vice president and student affairs chair in order to devote my full energies to the presidential search committee. After reviewing the duties associated with the committee, I do not believe that I would be able to perform the duties of vice president, if elected to do so, as well as those of the search committee to the best of my ability. I am fully confident that Sayda will excel in the position and make a huge difference on Whitman’s campus. I hope to continue to serve ASWC as a junior senator, if I am elected to do so. Thank you to all who supported me in this race.

Love,
Jack
Sayda Morales

As vice president, I would work tirelessly to hear from you about what changes can be made to improve the Whitman experience for all students. I will work to improve the climate of diversity at Whitman. When I say “diversity,” I refer to race, gender, social class, ability, sexual orientation, mental health and each and every other kind of identity that has an impact on a student’s Whitman experience. I want to ensure that all students, regardless of identity, feel safe and content at Whitman.

What is your year and major?

I am a junior majoring in sociology with a minor in art history and visual culture studies.

What do you think differentiates you from the other candidates or makes you especially qualified for the position you are running for?

Being away from a semester studying has allowed me to reflect on my experiences at Whitman. Additionally, this summer I will be gaining applicable experience through the Washington BUS Fellowship, promoting local and state-level political campaigns.

­What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

I would be dedicated to enacting ideas such as creating a Pan-African Interest House with a standard Arabic native speaker, bringing an Arabic language program, since there continues to be significant student interest and creating a pre-orientation program geared toward students of color and students with a working-class background.

What else are you involved in on campus and/or in the Walla Walla area and how have these activities shaped your Whitman experience?

I have worked for the Office of Admission and the Intercultural Center, during which I co-coordinated with the Alumni Office. I am the co-founder of All Students for Consent. I also represented the junior class as ASWC senator. I am a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, where I served as sustainability coordinator and scholarship director. I have also been a member of the Black Student Union and Almighty Ink. I have been involved in a plethora of on-campus activities that have given me access to different Whitman perspectives.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of at Whitman and why?

Standing at the top of the steps of Memorial Hall with a megaphone at my lips and a thumping heart in my chest as I looked at all my peers being in solidarity with me is the proudest moment of my Whitman career and my life. Since I was 12 years old, I have struggled with an anxiety disorder that has made me feel afraid for most of my life. I have been afraid to succeed, afraid to take risks and afraid to be me. But last year, I began to open up to my peers and try new things. So, when I was confronted with a problem that I knew was shared by many others on campus, I didn’t think a beat about speaking out and working to address it. If elected, I only hope to continue to ride that wave.

Finance Chair

Skye Vander Laan

Over the past year, I served as the business manager for The Pioneer. Using my experience collaboratively managing an operating budget, I will advocate on behalf of the student body on the president’s budget advisory committee, responsibly allocate student dollars for student development and implement legislative change to the green fund to allow students to use funds for off-campus projects. I will establish a greater degree of communication between ASWC finance and the student body, not only increasing awareness of how student dollars can be allocated, but increasing transparency of the ASWC financial processes, objectives and performance. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected]!

What is your year and major?

I am a junior majoring in economics.

What do you think differentiates you from the other candidates or makes you especially qualified for the position you are running for?

I am qualified for this position because of my experience in the past year as the business manager for The Pioneer. During my time as the business manager for The Pioneer, I gained experience making difficult fiscal decisions, managing the newspaper’s financial affairs and communicating financial information to the appropriate staff.  I worked closely with the editor-in-chief to responsibly maintain a balanced budget and improve accountability, which I will do on a larger scale as finance chair.

What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

I hope to increase awareness of the availability of ASWC funds and increase the reach of how these funds can impact the student body. Additionally, I hope to implement legislative change to allow students to use the green fund for off-campus projects.

What else are you involved in on campus and/or in the Walla Walla area and how have these activities shaped your Whitman experience?

I am involved with The Pioneer and the Whitman jazz ensemble. These activities and organizations have shaped my Whitman experience by creating communities outside of academics or residence halls, creating a place where people share common interests. Additionally, these activities have not only allowed me to pursue my creative passions, but also to pursue my career interest in business.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of at Whitman and why?

I am proud of working to revolutionize the budget system of The Pioneer. I instigated a new budget register that allows more up-to-date and detailed information to be relayed to the editor-in-chief and other decision makers at a moment’s notice.

Phuong Le

If elected, I aim to increase student involvement in program planning and financial decisions within ASWC and Whitman as a whole. I will decipher the jargon and numbers to make information about our school’s financial processes more accessible and understandable for all. I will relay your needs, concerns and suggestions to the administration, ensuring that you have a say in where your money goes, whether it is your tuition or your ASWC fee.

What is your year and major?

I am a sophomore BBMB major.

What do you think differentiates you from the other candidates or makes you especially qualified for the position you are running for?

I have a working knowledge of how things are operated at Whitman, particularly when it comes to financial and budget issues, and I’m eager to learn more.  In addition, my current involvement as the co-president of the Beyond Borders Club has helped me build strong working relationships with staff members and administration, equipped me with skills needed to effectively voice your requests, opinions and concerns to the administration and given me experience with working with other clubs and departments to sail through the intricacies of financing large events while balancing a small club budget.

­What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

My goals will be twofold: to ensure that students’ money is spent judiciously and to help students finance initiatives that will enrich our community. I will work to increase dialogue between the ASWC finance committee and the student body by inviting all interested students to join our meetings and by creating online mini surveys and polls, informing and giving students ample time to respond to important financial decisions.

What else are you involved in on campus and/or in the Walla Walla area and how have these activities shaped your Whitman experience?

I’ve been working on different jobs on campus since starting college and volunteering at the STEP women’s shelter. Through these experiences, I’ve had the privilege to meet and work with the individuals who gave me valuable perspectives on life, the Whitman community and how one’s college years should be spent.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of at Whitman and why?

A wave of positive changes has been happening at Whitman, socially and structurally. A few lines on The Pioneer will not do my thoughts justice. Talk to me, and I will let you know my answer!

Tabor Martinson

What is your year and major?

I am a junior anthropology major.

What do you think differentiates you from the other candidates or makes you especially qualified for the position you are running for?

I am distinguished from the other candidates because of my ASWC experience. I work with the finance committee almost every day and I am familiar with all the processes of ASWC and finance chair duties. I think ASWC experience is essential for this position because the job of finance chair is not limited to budget managing. The finance chair is also part of the executive council and an active leader of ASWC who must constantly communicate with every level of the college.

­What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

I hope to accomplish three things as finance chair: working with the administration to keep tuition low, funding as many considerate and cool student initiatives as feasible, and implementing a cloud-based spreadsheet (to change from word excel) to make budget managing more efficient.

What else are you involved in on campus and/or in the Walla Walla area and how have these activities shaped your Whitman experience?

I am an ASWC senator,  a Board of Trustees member for  Whitman Investment Company (WIC), a director of community involvement for Students For Education Reform (SFER), a volunteer at the Children’s Home Society and a head-guard of  Sheehan Art Gallery.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of at Whitman and why?

I am most proud of rebounding from a difficult first year to make a positive impact on campus and in the community through my involvement in an assortment of extracurricular activities and jobs.

Nominations Chair

George Felton

I believe that I would make a great nominations chair because I have three semesters of ASWC and nominations experience, I am well versed with application evaluation and interviewing and have a passion for ASWC and improving the representation of our student body.

What is your year and major?

I am a classics and philosophy double major and a member of the class of 2015.

What do you think differentiates you from the other candidates or makes you especially qualified for the position you are running for?

I am the only candidate on the ticket for nominations chair. However, I believe that my previous experience combined with my dedication to student action and turning ideas into realities make me well-qualified for this position.

What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

I plan to standardize ASWC position applications, to look into listing them on the Student Engagement Center’s iEngage site and to better facilitate communication between campus media organizations.

What else are you involved in on campus and/or in the Walla Walla area and how have these activities shaped your Whitman experience?

I am heavily involved with Whitman’s service trips program. I have been a participant and a leader on both SCORE and SBST, and I coordinated the 2013 SCORE program as the summer community service intern. I also served as the Tau Kappa Epsilon community service coordinator for two semesters, and I take part in service opportunities whenever I can. Apart from service, I am a co-founder and previous co-head of the new club, All Students for Consent, which aims to promote a safe and fun consent culture for all. Lastly, I am a KWCW DJ, and have been reading J.R.R. Tolkein’s masterpieces live on the air on my show, Naptime Epics. While these activities are currently on hold due to my studying abroad in Athens, Greece, I’ll be back and beginning “The Two Towers” come September. Overall, I believe that I have really pushed myself to be involved on campus, which has both benefited my ability to represent other students on ASWC in addition to being personally fulfilling.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of at Whitman and why?

I am most proud of starting ASC. After hearing statistics and stories of sexual assault on campus, and going to events like the Breaking Ground Monologues and Take Back The Night, I became increasingly frustrated by my inability to do anything to change it. However, I firmly believe that education and positive perspectives can do more good than negative reinforcement. Luckily, some other students felt the same way, and we decided to do something about it. ASC is a way students learn about and discuss consent with other students. We try to keep our events and programming fun and engaging, and approach consent from a forward-looking and honest perspective. My dream would be for Whitman students to actively uphold a culture of consent on campus, and I think that we’ve already made strides in that direction through ASC.