Maggie Richwine, Vice President of Student Activities Board, Contributing Opinion
I always joke around and say that if I could change my major to student government, I would. While it is a joke, I find a lot of truth in this statement. We come to Asbury pursuing a degree in a field that sparks our passions and excites us for the rest of our lives. We immerse ourselves in a diverse selection of possibilities for a purposeful future. For some, that might be film or English, but for me, it is facilitating a healthy community.
What I have discovered while serving on Executive Cabinet (EC) is the importance of a platform. The purpose of this platform is to listen to the needs and desires of students, faculty and administration while working to bring answers and improvements to each group. I have the privilege to attend and lead meetings and discuss ways to develop and sustain the very things that make Asbury so wonderful.
Executive Cabinet matters because it is a channel for the voice of the student body. The members of this year’s EC did not want an office in the Stuce in order to look cool or put a title on our resumes. We ran for these positions to express our love for Asbury as an institution as well as for the students — those here now and those in the future. We have an opportunity to tap into campus issues and produce actual and measurable change. As a member of EC, and as VP of Student Activities Board, this is not an opportunity to take lightly.
In addition, we get to have fun! We get to grow relationships with other student leaders, faculty and administration. We plan events that others can enjoy and watch the fruit of our labor be turned into something beautiful. And more importantly, the student body sees the product of this work as well, whether on the resident halls, on athletic teams, in individual majors or elsewhere.
Asbury is unlike any other Christian university. We are unique in almost every way. The faculty and administration have a desire to listen to what the students want or need, and they strive to fill not only the professor/administrative role but also become our friends or mentors. Asbury is not an institution that claims to be Christian — we truly exalt God. Is that not lovely? Is that not something to be celebrated? Being a part of EC allows students the avenue to advocate for an institution that not only equips them academically but also spiritually and mentally. Asbury cultivates a great number of strong leaders. We are not just another Christian university; we are Asbury.
EC continues to celebrate these unique traits and continues to work with the administration to think about the changing culture of our society and what the students want or need. Some of the changes that EC has made over the past few years have been expanding open dorm, making Fall Break longer, reallocating campus parking and creating a branch within EC dedicated to student intercultural programs.
Executive Cabinet is important because it represents all of campus. The eight people who are elected or appointed to serve every year represent each of you. They represent what we want to happen while we are students here and what we all want to leave behind for the students who will be here long after we graduate.
