Ben Campbell, Student Body President
I have had the privilege of serving on Executive Cabinet (EC) for the greater portion of two years. During those two years, I spent a year serving as executive treasurer and seven months serving as student body president. I guess you could say that I have seen behind the veil, so to speak. So why not pull the veil back a bit?
My time on EC has been spent with a few of the most amazing people I have had the pleasure of interacting with during my time here at Asbury. Their days are constantly spent thinking about ways to make this campus better for their peers, staff, faculty and administration. I have seen countless casual conversations transformed into intentional exchanging of thoughts on new proposals, clubs or events. EC members spend countless hours talking with students, faculty, staff and administration to ensure that every detail, aspect and point of view is considered before moving forward with an idea.
I can imagine what you are thinking right now — “So what?” The policy crafting, conversations and planning are not always visible, but their effects are. EC matters because we are the elected and appointed persons that act as the voice of students, faculty, staff and administration to the whole Asbury community. Moreover, EC works to advance Asbury University holistically.
It was through this work that laundry was made free for on-campus residents; fall break was extended an extra day, having both Thursday and Friday off; and the open dorm hours were expanded. Through Asbury Student Congress (ASC), EC provides fiscal support for events on campus such as the Embrace conference, Kids’ College and the SEARCH Symposium. This is merely a glimpse of the work of ASC and the people who lead it — the Executive Cabinet.
Let us take a step back for a moment. Why would EC also be the voice of faculty, staff and administration? Are EC members not elected to represent the students’ voice? The reality is, no. If EC was only the voice of the students, that would be a giant disservice to students. EC not only communicates the student body’s voice to decision-makers within the university, but we are tasked with the responsibility of communicating the positions of decision-makers to the students.
This system is designed to provide students with a holistic view of the university and its characteristics. Does this communication style always work efficiently? No. Much like a game of Telephone, messages can become murky and distorted. We, the members of EC, seek continually to improve and adjust to avenues that work best for the campus community. Yes, the design of campus is an open, welcoming community, but when ideas are given to decision-makers, they are taken to EC to filter through ASC and determine if the idea is representative of the student body. We are beginning to try a few new communication techniques in order to simplify the process of lateral communication.
The first is that an overview of our minutes from ASC meetings will be published in the Collegian following our meetings. The second is that ASC meetings are open to the entire student population. They are from 10:50 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month (March 26 and April 30 for the rest of the spring semester) in the Miller Screening Room. The third is that EC is hosting listening tours around campus to be available for conversations about truly whatever is on your mind. We are open to additional suggestions regarding communication avenues.
In a further attempt to pull back the veil of EC, I believe it is important to highlight different responsibilities EC members have that do not show up as résumé line items or on campaign posters. At a minimum, members are required to attend and participate in cabinet meetings (weekly), ASC meetings (monthly), branch meetings (monthly), branch committee meetings (varies) and faculty standing committee meetings (monthly).
Faculty standing committees are perhaps the more unique opportunities we have as student leaders. During these moments of collaboration, we are able to be the student voice in matters such as academic policies, curriculum, enrollment, learning resources and quality enhancement programs.
EC matters because policies matter. EC matters because Asbury matters. EC matters because students matter. We have a burning passion to advance this place we choose to call home, and we do not want to do it alone. This is an open invitation to come alongside us on this journey to enhance our university.
In regard to those questioning the validity of the tangible actions EC has completed, below are some of the projects that EC has worked on during the 2018-2019 school year:
- Aldersgate visiting hours from beginning at 5 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- Partnership with Church Under the Bridge
- New lights behind Glide-Crawford
- More frequent Chinese food in the cafeteria (biweekly to weekly)
- Funding Cane’s for write nights during finals
- Student-faculty relationship-building meal ticket program
- Funding and collaborating to launch the Embrace conference
- Collaboration with different student groups to bring campus-wide events that celebrate different cultures
- Educational panels to discuss important racial issues
- Funding Kids’ College events
- Ongoing project to get students discounts at local business
- Funding SEARCH prizes for students and faculty
- Ongoing project to get flags representing students’ nationalities in the Student Center
- Purchase a new AED for campus
- Project to bring clarity to the disciplinary process
- Funding for Self Defense Club supplies
- New sound system for Student Center
