Alexandra Morar is familiar with the student government.
Throughout middle and high school, Morar, now a freshman political science major, was involved in student council and student government, and will get a chance to continue her involvement at Waynesburg University.
Morar was recently one of four freshmen elected as new members of Student Senate, joining Luke Diel, Elijah Jennings and Alexander Wess. The student body elected the four, after a three-day election that featured five candidates. Morar said that before the voting took place, she was already trying to learn as much as she could about the Senate.
“Before elections, I went to all of the meetings,” Morar said. “So it was interesting to watch because, at my high school, student council and class government were more like organizing class dances and stuff. So I’m really excited [that] this is an actual Senate.”
Senate president Tyler McCoy said that Morar wasn’t the only new senator to get their feet wet before the election.
“I think all four of [the newly elected senators] had been to the meetings before they were elected,” McCoy, a senior history major, said. “They seem very active and engaged. So I think that they’re ready to hit the ground running, and we’re excited for their ideas to come up. They’ve all shown themselves to be very engaged in the Senate, and we’re excited for them to join.”
Throughout the campaign process, each candidate came up with a flyer and a slogan. Morar’s motto was “If you want a star, vote for Morar,” and she passed out Starbursts to go along with the theme.
For Lawrence Stratton, faculty advisor for Student Senate, the new senators had to be outgoing for their campaigns to be successful.
“To be elected, they all had to reach out and communicate with a lot of people, because it was a competitive election, and persuade others to vote for them,” Stratton said.
All four senators were sworn in by McCoy in a ceremony at last Tuesday’s meeting.
“When we got to take the oath,” Morar said. “It was really fun because we got to put our hands on the bible. So it was exciting.”
Already, Morar, who is a member of the treasure and budget committee, is thinking of ideas of how to improve the campus, one of which is pushing to install a printer in the Stover Center.
“The library’s not really open on weekends as much,” she said, “and during [finals week] and stuff if we have a paper due past midnight, we can’t print it until morning.”
Overall, Morar is looking forward to simply being a part of Student Senate, and is eager to listen to anybody with ideas to improve Waynesburg University.
“Just being on Senate in general [is exciting] Morar said. “Getting to help improve the campus, and definitely being able to listen to my peers and adhere to their wishes if they want any change in the school.”
Stratton is eager to see “what the new Senators bring to the table.”
“Like the apostle Paul said, everything they do is done decently and in order,” Stratton said. “I think that comes from the executive board, President McCoy’s leadership, the commitment to follow Robert’s Rules of Order, as they really set an example for the community at Waynesburg, and for society at large.”