As the new academic year begins, KSC’s Student Assembly has many open seats that they are hoping to fill with new student members in an upcoming election.
Junior Amanda Rotigliano, who said she has been a member of student assembly for three years now, is currently the speaker of assembly.
Rotigliano described student assembly as “a governing body on campus that’s entirely run by the students.”
“I like to describe it to people during the election cycle as a place where you can have your voice heard to different departments on campus that directly represent us,” they continued. “It’s a way to get your opinion heard, and then you can help give them advice on what you may want to see changed on campus.”
Rotigliano spoke about the other personal benefits she has experienced from being on assembly, saying, “I’ve gotten better at being able to voice my opinions in a public space and in front of a lot of people … I also think it’s really good to see the behind-the-scenes on campus of some stuff that you wouldn’t really know was happening unless you were involved in that way.”
Rotigliano explained the positions on student assembly are based on a system that splits the dorm buildings into districts. They said there are three available positions in the off-campus district, one Butler Court/Pondside III/first-year CA position, two Pondside II/Owl’s Nest positions, two Holloway/Pondside I/Fiske positions and three student-at-large positions, as well as the treasurer position and two student senate seats that student assembly are all trying to fill in an upcoming election that is set to take place during the second week of September.
The process of joining student assembly involves filling out a petition that will come to students in an email before the election, Rotigliano said. After that, they go on to the election ballot which all the students on campus will be able to vote on.
“Hopefully we can get some first-years who are interested,” Rotigliano said. “We do host these elections mostly for first-year students who want to get involved, but with so many vacancies this year we’re hoping to fill those spots.”
Rotigliano said students should consider joining student assembly because it’s a good opportunity to get involved and meet people across campus.
“It’s a great opportunity to get to know other students and people on campus, and it’s a way to grow in your time at the college and learn useful skills and time management,” Rotigliano said. “It’s helped me figure out what I want to do and help me figure out that maybe going into a position in government isn’t what I want, but it’s still beneficial to me because it’s helped me get stronger at public speaking and all that.”
Rotigliano said if anyone has any questions about student assembly, they should stop by the group’s table at the student involvement fair on Friday, September 5. Additionally, student assembly’s first meeting takes place on September 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Room in the L.P. Young Student Center, which Rotigliano said is an open meeting that students can come sit in for and see what student assembly is like.
Student-at-Large Representative Emily Hussey was unavailable for comment.
Student Government Advisor Jen Ferrell did not respond to requests for comment.
Justin Dearborn can be reached at
jdearborn@kscequinox.com
