3.1.23 Ashland Collegian

Perceptions on Student Senate influence, power depends on perspective

Executive President Tiffany Sims sees the power of the Student Senate at Ashland University stemming from its constituents.

“At the very basic level, we have power and being able to express our voice, and we are trying to do our best to represent thousands of students on campus who are paying customers of this university, and so that in and of itself, I think that does have power,” said Sims.

Sims currently serves as the president for the 2022-2023 academic year.

She originally ran for the president of the Student Senate because she has loved her experience here at Ashland University.

“This campus is such a special place, and I think that being in a position of leadership allows you to help,” said Sims. “My goal was to just help other students in whatever I could [to] have that same great experience I had.”

While Sims sees the power of the Student Senate coming from its constituents, perceptions on the effectiveness of the Student Senate vary among current and past senate members. There are also varying opinions on how well it connects with the student body.

Sims also believes that the Student Senate’s influence comes through “significant collaboration.”

Sims pointed to the reversal of the decision to cancel winter commencement and the uncancelling of the Symphonic Band trip as examples of how the Student Senate had a voice in those decisions.

Part of this collaboration effort also involves working with the administration.

AU President Dr. Carlos Campo said the senate plays a key role and that the administration takes the Student Senate seriously.

“Obviously, if we take them seriously, we do take their suggestions,” said Campo.

Campo added that the Student Senate has a “direct line” to him and the Board of Trustees because some of the senate members have positions on board committees.

He also mentioned that the Student Senate has been invited to some of the Town Hall meetings like the Town Hall that took place at the beginning of the spring semester.

“We’re here for students and the reason [AU] exists,” said Campo.

Campo elaborated on the many examples from the past five years of hearing the Student Senate, and addressing the issues around campus.

A few of the examples are as follows:

- Dorm refreshes

- Improved WiFi access

- Upgraded lighting around campus

Dr. Rosaire Ifedi, president of

the Faculty Senate, believes that the power of the Student Senate lies in how the Student Senate views something.

“The power of it should lie in the fact that when the Student Senate … says this is how we see something and they take it to the president of the administration… they should be heard,” said Ifedi.

Dr. Greg McBrayer, vice president of Faculty Senate, has a different perspective of power in the Student Senate, and views it more as influence.

“They have influence not just with faculty, but with the administration, with the Board of Trustees [and] with alumni,” said McBrayer.

The senators within the Student Senate have different views on how much power or influence the senate has.

Inside perspectives

Sophomore Heath Johnston, executive officer of student affairs, said

MORE INSIDE

> How the AU Student Senate is organized, Page A5

> Comparing AU student government to Findlay’s, Page A5

> Past president says senate’s influence stifled by administration, Page A2

the power of the Student Senate depends on who was in the senate at a particular time.

“Depending on the people who are in Student Senate because it’s really up to the student senators to pursue these goals outside of the actual meetings because if you want something to get done you have to go out of your way and put your own time and commitment into it,” said Johnston.

See PERCEPTIONS, page A5

EFP and Theta Phi Alpha ‘family-friendly’ drag event rejected

Eagles for Pride (EFP) and Theta Phi Alpha Sorority presented a proposal for a “family-friendly” drag show event to the Ashland University administration.

However, the event and its proposal was rejected as it “did not align with the values and traditions of Ashland University,” according to AU President Dr. Carlos Campo.

“The event was never presented to the Board of Trustees, and there was no Board action that denied approval of the event,” said Brielle Nettles, executive director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “The program was denied because it was determined to be incongruent with the Board of Trustees Alignment Policy.”

EFP and Theta Phi Alpha planned

a “Family Feud game show event,” with the event MC, heads of teams, and hosts being individuals in drag.

Regarding previous similar events, EFP President Rhiannon Reed said that the recent proposal marked the “first time an event like this has gone this far through the approval process.”

“It was always a worry that due to the concerns that were expressed during the creation of Eagles for Pride that a drag show or pride event would never be in the cards for this club, so not many people even wanted to make an attempt,” Reed said.

Cara McKeown, the panhellenic delegate of the Theta Phi Alpha Sorority, mentioned that three attempts had been made to approve the event and also mentioned that the Board of Trustees asked for a revision of the initial proposal.

“The Board of Trustees asked for

the revision of the initial proposal that didn’t include certain words and phrases and was a clear-cut and dry message of what the event would entail,” said McKeown. “For example, the words Drag and LGBTQ were not allowed on the posters for the event and made the organizations thoroughly explain what would happen at the event and still said no.”

appropriately and performing (lip-syncing and dancing) to family-friendly music,” said McKeown.

Reed stated certain “family-friendly” events could include other elements, pointing to an example of drag queen readings that occur at libraries.

event being rejected.

The summarized version of the letter to the Student Senate stated as follows:

What

is ‘family-friendly’?

The word “drag” in the MerriamWebster dictionary means:

“Entertainment in which performers challenge gender stereotypes by combining elements of stereotypically male and female dress, often with elaborate costumes and makeup.”

“A family-friendly drag show consists of multiple drag queens dressed

“The most popular example would be drag queen readings at the library, which is quite simply just someone dressed up in drag reading books out loud at a local library,” said Reed.

“It’s just like any other storytime event, with the only difference being that a drag queen is the reader.”

Student Senate Proposal

On Tuesday, Feb. 7, EFP and Theta Phi Alpha addressed the issue with the Student Senate about the

“Eagles for Pride and Theta Phi Alpha proposed a family-friendly drag show event to raise money for the Full Spectrum Community Outreach Housing Project in Mahoning County, a project for housing LGBTQ+ youth. The event proposal unfortunately was denied after going through the runaround from the Board of Trustees to President Campo, the reason for its denial was that the university wasn’t “ready” for such an event. This is not the only thing, but this is the straw that broke the camel’s back when it comes to the university’s view of Eagles for Pride.”

The Student Senate decided to meet with both organizations to proceed with the steps that could follow.

See REJECTION, page A2

KATELYN MEEKS News Editor

KATELYN MEEKS

Noah Harshbarger was sworn in as sophomore class president during the Feb. 21 Student Senate meeting by Executive President Tiffanny Sims.

“The power of it should lie in the fact that when the Student Senate... says ‘this is how we see something’ and they take it to the president of the administration... they should be heard.”

Dr. Rosaire Ifedi Faculty Senate President

KATELYN MEEKS News Editor

REJECTION

Continued from page A1

Student Senate’s influence stifled by administration, past president says

KYLIE VAN DINE Social Media Manager

Yosolajesu Olujide-Ajibade was no stranger to the Ashland University Student Senate when she took on the role of executive president during the 2021-2022 school year. Her presidency was filled with many hardships, such as being in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was not her biggest challenge, she said. Dealing with the administration was one of her biggest frustrations during her time in the Student Senate.

“I believe Student Senate had only a sliver of an influence on the University, and most of the time this was due to university administration itself,” said OlujideAjibade.

She acknowledged that she is a blunt individual when it comes to topics she is passionate about. Still, she said the administration would ask her, on multiple occasions, to redact, retract, and provide evidence to back the Student Senate statements because they were too brash for donors.

“It was extremely disheartening to me to leave Student Senate meetings almost in tears due to student testimonials and grievances and then pour my heart and soul into telling the university leadership about how these students felt, only for them to tell me they weren’t sure those things ever happened or if I had interpreted the aforementioned testimonial/grievances the correct way,” said Olujide-Ajibade.

Olujide-Ajibade was heavily involved around campus and she believed this was able to help her better represent the student body as a whole as the executive president of Student Senate. She previously served as the Office of Diversity and Inclusion representative on the senate from 2019-2021.

She was a sprinter on the AU track team, president and social media and community events chair for Delight Ministries and served on the Ashland IDEAL Council,

the AU Diversity Council, and executive board member for Black Student Alliance. She was a mentor for the Pathways program along with being a coordinator for the Pathways Pre-Orientation program.

“I wanted to be student body president because I felt like for some years now, the university has only had a certain or specific type of population that served in the role. I felt that the university needed a bit of a change of pace with how we went about the position,” said Olujide-Ajibade.

Olujide-Ajibade felt as if she was only able to “scratch the surface” with her goals for the student body, Student Senate, and university as a whole.

Her top priority was to promote increased communication and relations between the student body and university leadership, and to create a cohesive, collaborative senate with an extensive involvement with other student organizations to create a more involved campus community.

Another goal of hers was to facilitate more conversations, resources, and spaces that addressed the topic of mental health, and finally, to ensure that AU’s Title IX regulations and policies adequately protect victims.

Although both groups are waiting for a response, Reed believes the Student Senate has supported the organizations and their efforts.

“As of right now, the senate has been doing an incredible job of supporting us and what we’ve been going through and making the student body aware of it,” said Reed.

“We have written a letter to them detailing all of the things that have happened in the past few months of us trying to get this event approved and explaining exactly why something like this is important. They plan on helping us spread this letter to the student

CORRECTIONS

body, and have plans to see what they have within their power to help support us,” she added.

According to Reed, EFP and Theta Phi Alpha are ensuring that the student body is aware of the outcome of the attempts.

CREATIVE COMMONS

McKeown echoed this sentiment, stating that Theta Phi Alpha is considering a peaceful protest on campus “to further support queer students against the administration.”

›› The headline on a Feb. 15 profile of Mohsine Bensaid incorrectly stated he was the head of the ACCESS program. He is the director of the Writing and Communication Center. *

›› The Ashland Symphony Orchestra’s March 4 concert is at 7:30 p.m. in Archer Auditorium at Ashland High School. A Feb. 15 story incorrectly stated it was in AU’s Hugo Young Theatre.

Even though she was unable to accomplish all her goals during her time on the senate, OlujideAjibade overall still enjoyed being on the Student Senate.

“I really enjoyed my experience with the Student Senate. It was extremely eye opening to serve as the main voice of the Student Body and take all the concerns they had directly to university administration,” Olujide-Ajibade said.

“In the same breath though I also found it extremely disheartening at times and frustrating because there were multiple weeks where it felt like we were just bringing forth the same problems over and over and over again with no real action or change taking place,” added Olujide-Ajibade.

After her time at AU and serving as executive president, OlujideAjibade is now working as a nurse tech at the PACU at a major hospital system, along with being a float nurse tech at another major hospital system, all while finishing up her nursing degree at Herzing University for her fifth year.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Taking care of your mental health

Brynn Meisse Features editor

As midterms start to approach and the weather becomes a mix of spring and winter, I find myself struggling with my mental health.

It’s challenging to find the motivation to complete my work and even leave my bed, but there are a few things I do to make a change.

I try to journal every night and write down my feelings to reflect on them and be proud of how far I’ve come. I limit my social media consumption because I find that I am constantly comparing myself to those I see on Instagram.

Getting up and moving my body has helped to improve my mental

health. It doesn’t have to be a full weight-lifting workout to make a change, but doing something simple such as walking or yoga will make all the difference.

These small changes helped me, but the most significant impact has been surrounding myself with supportive friends. If you are ever going through a rough patch, put yourself around those that are positive. Humans typically tend to pick up on others’ attitudes, so surround your-

self with those you consider a “light in the darkness”.

Do something you love, whether reading a book, playing a game, or even calling your parents, or a loved one.

Focus on taking care of yourself and putting your mental health first. It’s okay to have rough days, but don’t let there be more bad days than good ones.

You deserve to be happy and loved.

You Matter.

“Focus on taking care of yourself and putting your mental health first. It’s okay to have rough days, but don’t let there be more bad days than good ones. You deserve to be happy and loved. You matter.”

Brynn Meisse Features Editor

Yosolajesu OlujideAdjibade

‘Extremely eye-opening’

The British are coming!

Mouledoux shows love of history through accurate reenactment clothing

When walking across the campus of Ashland University, students, faculty, and visitors might be lucky to catch a glimpse of what seems to be a young Paul Revere.

Clothed in a dark green frock coat with a tricorn hat and buckled shoes, Mouledoux indulges in his love of history by wearing a 1700s colonial outfit.

Elizabeth Wild, fellow Ashbrook, has seen Mouledoux dress up one several occasions.

“When I first saw Robert’s outfit I thought that it was nice to see someone who was able to throw away social norms for personal choice and to dress how he wants forsaking potential judgment,” Wild said.

In elementary school, Mouledoux traveled with his family to visit his grandparents in Buffalo, New York. While there, him and his family went to Fort Niagara State Park to learn about the French and Indian War.

When he arrived, the fort was hosting a Fourth of July French and Indian War reenactment, which quickly caught Mouledoux’s attention.

“When we went, me and my brothers were absolutely mesmerized by it,” he said.

Mouledoux and his brothers decided to dress up as French soldiers for Halloween that year.

“My mom tried to accommodate that as best as she could. She ended up finding this group in Florida called The Fort Downing Trading

Company, which makes period 1700 clothing,” Mouledoux said.

However, looking back at his first costume, he noticed that it was actually historically inaccurate.

Mouledoux explained that his costume was missing the frock coat, stockings, and buckled shoes.

Eventually, Mouledoux outgrew the costume and decided to take a break from dressing up until about a year and a half ago when he bought the costume he now currently wears.

“I wore it the first day of Ashbrook orientation, and that was my first time presenting it,” he said. “Everyone thought I was the mascot for the Ashbrook program!”

Dr. John Moser, a professor of History at the Ashbrook Center, has seen Mouledoux several times in his costume and has yet to be disappointed.

“I’m always impressed by the costumes I’ve seen Robert wear. I do a bit of reenactment myself, so he and I have talked about it on a few occasions,” Moser said. “He’s also participated in the Reacting to the Past games that I often use in my history courses, and he can generally be counted on to show up well attired!”

Mouledoux spends countless hours completing online research to ensure his outfit is historically accurate.

His attire includes a tricorn hat, also known as a cocked hat. The three-pointed hat was created after soldiers knocked their wide-brimmed hats off with muskets in the wars.

Mouledoux explained that his outfit has two features that display wealth, a feather on his hat and the

green frock coat. Only wealthy men in the 1700s could afford these features, patterns,and ruffles.

He made it a point to show that his stockings were not wrinkled because they were highly frowned upon. Men kept their stockings straight by using leather garters to hold them up.

Mouledoux also owns a German Army Officer uniform circa 1907 but doesn’t wear that one in public anymore due to controversial opinions.

“Everytime I wore it everyone either thought I was a Russian or that I was a Nazi. It got old trying to explain that World War I and World War II are different things,” he said.

While he enjoys dressing up in his free time, Mouledoux would like to participate in historical reenactments in the future after facing delays from COVID-19.

“Watching reenactments is important because living history demonstrations allow you to experience the time period,” Mouledoux explained.

He has plans to potentially bring a club to campus if there is enough interest.

“Maybe if there is enough interest, but besides my one friend I don’t know anyone else who reenacts,” Mouledoux stated.

ACN hosts annual conference with ‘Welcoming the Stranger’ theme

The Ashland Center for Nonviolence (ACN) hosted the 8th annual John D. Stratton Conference on Feb. 25 in the Dauch College of Business and Economics to discuss various topics connecting to a central theme.

The theme of this year’s conference was described as “Welcoming the Stranger,” and the various speakers featured in the conference conducted sessions to discuss the very topic.

Some speakers featured in the conference included Assistant Professor of Spanish Dr. Diane Cortés-Evans, Professor of Philosophy Dr. William Vaughn, Kent State University’s Caraline Feairheller and Camille Tinnin, and the conference’s keynote speaker, founder and CEO of the KiMISTRY consulting agency, Kimberly Brazwell.

Cortés-Evans’ presentation titled “The De(Humanization) and (Re) Humanization of the Stranger in the Movie Sleep Dealer” discussed the

topic of immigration with a 2008 science fiction film.

Cortés-Evans discussed how immigration is often politicized and deemed controversial and the overarching theme of humanity becoming an object while our economic system becomes the subject.

Vaughn’s presentation, “OurBeing-With-Animals,” welcomed a stranger people often overlook: animals.

Vaughn discussed the moral considerability of animals and animal ethics from a philosophical standpoint, stating in his abstract, “Understanding the moral significance of our commonalities with animals, the failure to welcome them, has something to do with the failure to understand the concept of a human being.”

Feairheller’s presentation titled “Making Queer Peacemakers Visible in Our Curriculum’’ discussed the topic of inclusive curriculums regarding LGBTQ+ terminology and self-expression in the classroom.

According to Feairheller, “I have created an educational curriculum

on queer peacemakers to educate 3-6 graders on contributions queer people have made to social movements and nonviolence theory and practice.”

Tinnin’s presentation titled “Depolicing the Universe(ity): Campus De-Escalation Training as a Tool Against State Violence” discussed the topic of college and university policing and how de-escalation and bystander intervention could assist in decreasing over-policing campuses.

According to Tinnin, “This train-

ing invites students to collectively reconsider our relationship with policing and offers clear alternatives to several contexts when police are often deployed: mental health and domestic situations, street harassment, protest and demonstrations, noise complaints, and other neighbor disputes.”

Lastly, Brazwell conducted a workshop on “Creating braver, safer spaces with courage and reliability” to better communicate in everyday situations and welcome the stranger into one’s life.

Brazwell’s workshop consisted of an overview of “The Nine Asks,” a system she created to form guidelines for promoting safer spaces and productive discussion.

Overall, each topic tied into the central theme of the conference, with some speakers even remarking how their presentations could intertwine with each other.

Attendees were presented with various resources, information, and tools to equip themselves better to “ welcome the stranger” into their lives.

BRYNN MEISSE

Robert Mouledoux is a freshman at AU majoring in History and Applied Music with a minor in Political Science.

BRYNN MEISSE Features Editor

NICHOLAS STUPKA Reporter

BRYNN MEISSE

Keynote Speaker Kim Brazwell spoke about community building, advocacy, and storytelling.

BRYNN MEISSE

Jan Archer listens to welcoming remarks from Dr. Craig Hovey, executive director of Ashland Center for Nonviolence.

Industrial engineering program awaits accreditation and approval from state agencies

LOGAN GRAY Reporter

Ashland University’s planned industrial engineering program is awaiting approval by the Ohio Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), says Dan Fox, interim dean for the College of Business and Economics.

“The next phase is to get it approved by the Higher Learning Commission, as well as the Ohio Department of Education,” said Fox. “So it’s in that process right now. We submitted the application shortly after it was approved in May, and then HLC and Ohio Department of Education did a joint review visit, and then peer reviewers come in, and they review the program, and then they make recommendations of whether the program should be approved, or whether it should not be approved.”

The program was initially approved by AU in May 2022. Still, its approval process by the commission and the Ohio Department of Education was delayed when a reviewer had some familial health problems.

“I think it’s back on track, and so we’re working with HLC, and we should hopefully have news we hope within the next month or two of whether it’s approved or not,” he added.

AU President Dr. Carlos Campo stated, “We’re not gonna be able to intake students for this fall, so it looks like it will have to be next fall before we take any students in the program.”

Due to the delay in review, the program, it cannot be advertised until the HLC and the Ohio Department of Education approved it.

“We’re excited too. It’s been hard; some coaches have con -

ARCHER LIBRARY

tacted me and said, ‘Hey, we have a student that’s interested,’ and I just say, ‘You know, it’s not approved yet.’ I can not say that we have a program yet,” Fox said. “While we have the program approved at the university, it hasn’t been approved by [the] Higher Learning Commission and the Ohio Department of Education. So that’s where we’re at.”

“I think what it will allow us to do is to provide a program that right now in the marketplace is popular. Engineering is popular,

and so, we have quite a few students who inquire if we have an engineering program right now, and we say no, so it doesn’t give us an opportunity,” he added.

The main focus is planned to be industrial engineering.

“It’s kind of one of the older engineering-type degrees,” said Fox. “And we chose that one because we felt that was doable for Ashland, it doesn’t take a significant amount of labs and equipment. [As] mechanical as you can imagine, you have to have quite a

Seventh floor renovations underway

Archer Library renovations on the seventh floor will focus on many aspects of student life, more tutoring areas and a hangout spot for students.

“We are revitalizing the floor. We got rid of the wallpaper and put up fresh paint to make it look more modern,” Catherine Williams, assistant provost of Student Success, said.

The carpet, which has not been changed in decades, will be replaced to last longer.

“The hole in the wall will allow more space to work with,” Williams said as she explained that the new room will include personal tutoring sessions for students who need help with their work.

The new room also contains a group tutoring station with a large whiteboard, almost like a private classroom for students to learn in.

The floor includes two new offices where students can go in and learn from personal tutors.

There will be new offices, remodeled with a facelift to have a modern look.

“We invited the art club to do a mural,” Williams said as she explained that as students are up on the floor, they can take pictures.

Williams and the staff are letting the art club decide what they will do with the mural.

“There will be a fun campus map on another wall with vinyl, so if it does change, we can peel it off and add to it,” Williams said.

“We plan to have our snack cart back out,” Williams said, as it will contain coffee and snacks so students can feel more comfortable with the bean bag chairs that will be included as well.

The goal of the renovation will be more student-oriented instead of tutoring being out in the open, there will be other rooms for it as well as a hangout spot.

“The facilities [crews] have been great,” Williams said as she explained that they have been working fast and diligently around the center’s schedule.

The library will have a grand reveal of the seventh floor when the construction is finished.

bit of laboratory space for your classes. Chemical engineering would be the same thing. You would have to have quite the lab and resources to do that.”

The spaces required for the engineering program would occupy some labs already on campus rather than generating new labs.

“We’re gonna retrofit an existing lab that we have, is our plan to do… probably put some better equipment in it,” he stated.

According to Fox, Bob and Jan Archer donated $700,000 to the

new engineering program.

“Bob Archer gave money to the program, so there’s sufficient funding,” Fox said. “If we do need any additional kind of lab equipment or software, we have it.”

“It’s a way for us to attract a student right now that’s interested in engineering, that otherwise will not come here,” he continued. “I think it has the potential to offer for the entire university something we haven’t been able to do before and that is attract the students in high school that decide they wanna be engineers. And because of that, they don’t give us a look. Now they’re going to give us a look.”

STUDENT SENATE Senators discuss annual leadership and service awards

Health Center still recommends quarantine for COVID-19 exposure

staff do not. However, some faculty in the library do not teach but are considered staff.

Student Senate discussed leadership and service awards nominations and nominated individuals to be voted on at the next meeting.

All campus organizations will be able to nominate individuals for these awards.

Campus Ministry Award acknowledges an individual who has fulfilled a religious mission and exemplifies the Christian values that Ashland University upholds.

The Diversity Award recognizes an individual who has exemplified the idea of inclusion on campus.

Emerging Leader of the Year Award acknowledges an individual who shows promise as an emerging leader. The individual must be in their first or second year at Ashland and their first year of serving in the organization.

Campus Leader of the Year

Award is to recognize an individual who is an exceptional leader.

AU Volunteer Hall of Fame Award acknowledges an individual who has helped the community through volunteer work.

The Honor and Integrity Award recognizes an individual who upholds these values.

Campus Program of the Year

Award is to acknowledge an exceptional collaborative program. This must be a program that a dual organization collaborative puts on.

Faculty Member of the Year Award recognizes an exceptional faculty member, and the Staff Member of the Year Award recognizes an exceptional staff member. The difference between faculty and staff is that faculty teach, and

Service Project of the Year Award acknowledges an exceptional service project on campus. Cultural Program of the Year is to recognize an exceptional cultural program on campus.

Student Organization of the Year acknowledges an exceptional student organization.

New Student Organization of the Year recognizes a student organization that started within the past two years.

A resolution was proposed at the senate Tuesday night for its first reading and was discussed.

The Senate will not vote on the resolution until its third reading, and the resolution will be released on the Student Senate website at that time.

The Health Center is still quarantining students with COVID-19. However, they can not mandate quarantining, but can only recommend it.

On the campus website, it is updated to say, “Students who have been exposed to COVID-19 should report their exposure to the Student Health Center. Official quarantine is no longer required.”

›› STUDENT SENATE Senators meet every Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. in the second floor conference rooms of the Hawkins-Conard Student Center.

LOGAN GRAY

The engineering program was planned to be housed in the Dauch College of Business and Economics.

“I think it has the potential to offer for the entire univeristy something that we haven’t been able to do before and that is attract the students in high school that decide they want to be engineers.”

Dan Fox Interim Dean, College of Business and Economics

WILLIAM CURRIER Reporter

WILLIAM CURRIER

CURRIER

ABIGAIL HASSENZAHL Reporter

from Page A 1

Findlay vs. AU

Comparing student government structures

KATELYN MEEKS News Editor

Less than 90 minutes away from Ashland University is the University of Findlay and the student government at is known as the Student Government Association (SGA).

Findlay is similar size wise and in academic and athletic offerings to AU, making it good for comparison purposes.

According to its website, the Findlay Student Government Association is composed of six executive board members, three senators from each undergraduate class, and one graduate senator, for a total of 19 positions. All positions are currently filled.

The AU Student Senate has a total of 40 positions consisting of eleven executive board members, two class officers, officer of Greek life, officer of athletic affairs, officer of religious life, one senator per college, one senator per each of the residential units, a commuter representative and an international representative. Only 27 of those are filled as of the spring semester.

According to the Findlay SGA constitution, 50% of the total fees from the Student Activity Fee accumulated is allocated to the SGA, which is solely responsible for how this money is allocated to the clubs and organizations on campus.

That totals a $300,000 budget for Findlay’s clubs and organizations for the school year. Undergraduate fulltime students pay $150 in fees per semester with part-time and graduate contributing lesser amounts.

The AU Student Senate has an annual budget of $150,000 for clubs and organizations. AU student activity fees are $260 for undergraduates, according to the Student Organizational Manual.

A Student Senate subcommittee –

PERCEPTIONS

Continued from page A1

Johnston said current senators are “going the extra mile” that tasks are getting accomplished and working to connect with the student body.

Sophomore Zach Scher, executive officer of finance and facilities, views power as relative.

“It might take a few times but people listen to us,” Scher said. “We have great relationships with the administration and faculty, professional relationships and everybody’s working to make the university a little bit better.”

Junior Kenna Cline, executive officer of academic affairs, doesn’t see it as a Student Senate power issue.

Cline views it as a “degree of privilege” because the Student Senate has direct communication with the administration.

She also pointed out the misconception that the Student Senate does not have power.

“I think there is this misconception that Student Senate doesn’t have power because, like, if we pass something, but it doesn’t get done, then like it must mean that nobody listens to us,” said Cline. “Administration really does look to us to be connected with the student body, but it’s more like Student Senate, itself, needs to keep pushing them.”

A

national perspective

Butch Oxendine, the founder of the American Student Government Association, says if the administration does not take student governments seriously, they are seen as “childish.”

Oxendine pointed to the example of setting rules for children, like the age a child can get a driver’s license and has to prove themselves before having the responsibility of the license.

“Administrators are gonna limit [the student government] influence and ability to do things until they prove they’re up to the task,” Oxendine said.

AU IN-DEPTH

How AU Student Senate is organized

the four classes

- One Senator per each college

- One Senator per each of the Residential Units

An Instagram post on Jan. 30, 2022 detailed a little bit about the Ashland University Student Senate.

The post stated what the AU Student Senate is as follows:

“The AU Student Senate serves as the voice of the undergraduate Student Body of Ashland University: as a means to promote the general welfare of the students and the University community as a whole.”

“Our mission is to Collaborate, Serve, and Unite,” the post added.

The AU Student Senate consists of a total of 40 positions with 11 of those positions being the executive board.

Currently, only 27 of the 40 positions are filled.

the Activities, Budget, and Charters Committee (ABCC) – allocates roughly half of the $150,000 budget. Alena Aguayo, executive officer of activities, budgets, and charters, chairs the subcommittee which has four other senators and at least two faculty members representing two of the four colleges.

The Findlay Student Government has well-defined procedures for funding the clubs and organizations on campus, according to Chloe Moltzen, SGA treasurer. The SGA believes that they have a significant influence at their university due to the amount of clubs they help support on campus.

“Of course we do have clubs that are kind of independent and do things differently, but we have a lot of clubs that we fund, events that they fund for the campus and I think that’s a big thing for people,” said Moltzen.

Ashlyn Coleman, president of the SGA, added that the students that have been part of the SGA for the past several years have been a “get it done” group.

“Students definitely pick up on that and … if a student comes to us with an actual like, suggestion, concern, you know, something like that. Then I feel like as a group, we know the right people to kind of make it happen.”

Coleman referenced the SGA’s Instagram page to posting all the positive things the Senate does on the page, and updating about weekly club events.

The Findlay SGA Instagram page has a total of 1,168 followers and 168 following compared with the AU Student Senate of 366 followers and 389 following. However, in January 2022, AU Student Senate Instagram was hacked and they had to create a new account.

SGA Officer of DEI Holly McCoy, also mentioned the leadership component, and how it has allowed for more influence.

“With the great leadership that we’ve had the past few years has also allowed us to have more influence with our faculty and so it’s allowed us to have a greater voice among them, but then it also allows them to realize that we can help them as well,” said McCoy.

The Student Senate also consists of voting members and non-voting members.

Voting members according to the Ashland University Student Senate Constitution and Bylaws:

- Executive President - Executive Vice President - Executive Officer of Academic Affairs

- Executive Officer of Finance and Facilities

- Executive Officer of Student Affairs

- Executive Officer of Activities, Budgets and Charters

- Executive Officer of Judicial Affairs

- Executive Officer of Residence

Life

- Officer of Athletic Affairs

- Officer of Religious Life

- Officer of Greek Life

- Two Class Senators per each of

- A Commuter Representative - An International Students Representative

Non-voting members according to the Ashland University Student Senate Constitution and Bylaws:

- Executive Secretary

- Officer of Public Relations

- Parliamentarian - Executive Cabinet Member chosen by the President of the University acting in an advisory capacity - Faculty Advisor

Each of the the members on the Student Senate have what their responsibilities and duties laid out under Article X: Powers and Responsibilities of Officers in the Ashland University Student Senate Constitution and Bylaws

A few of the positions act like a “funnel”on the executive board, according to sophomore Anna Bielawski, officer of judicial affairs.

For example, the executive officer of residence life works closely with the dorm hall representatives, and the executive officer of student affairs works closely with the college representatives and class representatives.

“The executive board of the Student Senate tends to have more responsibility than the rest of the senate as a whole,” Bielawski said. “The Student Senate mainly represents and that is their primary concern, but in the past, the senate has also worked with faculty concerns.”

AU Student Senate AU Student Senate Executive Board Executive Board

Oxendine has worked with multiple student government organizations across the country and the number one problem he usually sees with student government is connecting with the student body.

“[Student Senates] often don’t know that they rely on their instincts,” said Oxendine.

Oxendine explained that the instinct was when student governments started to rely on “word of mouth” from a handful of students rather than gaining hard-factual data surveying the student population on their needs and wants.

“Your peers in student government, they think they know more about what the students want than they really do,” said Oxendine. “They are trusting their instincts, which can lie to them, and nothing is better than hard facts if you can have.”

One example of where the AU Student Senate succeeded at this was with the Eagle Experience voucher with former Sophomore Class President Skylar Phillians sending out a survey to the entire sophomore class.

The Eagle Experience voucher was a proposal for all traditional undergraduate students to pay a fee of $250 per semester to help fund different student experiences.

After seeing the overwhelming negative response from the student body, the administration decided to not move forward with the Eagle Experience voucher.

Perceptions on communications

The Student Senate currently communicates information with the student body via email from the

class representatives, minutes posted on the student senate website, social media links and through different events on campus Johnston said.

However, when The Collegian went out and interviewed random students across campus, a pattern emerged. Most students did not know who their class representatives were and unaware of any information communicated to them from the student senate or their representatives.

Senior Class President Mark Biltz was the one exception that was mentioned by students.

Biltz said he noticed that last year’s junior class president sent out monthly newsletters,, but it began to fizzle out towards the end of the year.

Biltz decided if he became senior class president, he would consistently send out newsletters monthly.

“So every single month, I send out a monthly newsletter just stating… what I hear on senate, different campus happenings, and I try to keep it light and funny,” said Biltz. “So that way it keeps the students intrigued.”

Biltz also puts a photo of himself attached to the email as a way for seniors to identify him and memes to entertain a bit in his emails.

Whether one agrees the AU Student Senate seems to have power or influence or either, depends on the view of the senate as a whole. Sims mentioned one point that seems to be a common thread when viewed by anyone. “I’ve heard this kind of attitude from students [that] the Student Senate does not have any real power,” said Sims. “I think it comes down to how you use your power.”

Additional reporting was done by Social Media Manager Kylie Van Dine and Madison Ferrell.

MADISON FERRELL Reporter

KATELYN MEEKS

Ashland University Student Senate has more than double the number of Senators than the University of Findlay’s Student Government Association.

sports

From across the world to Ashland

SOFTBALL

Eagles swing back into action for 2023 season

The Ashland University softball team began with the team competing in Music City invitational Feb. 18 and 19, where team won only one of their four games over the two days.

Going into the invitational, head coach Emily Knerem knew that there was still work to be done by watching her girls play and knew that the start of the season is where you make improvements.

“The record doesn’t show how well we actually did, we all played well and were very cohesive and it was just all around amazing,” said senior third baseman Hailey Struckman.

By Sunday, Feb. 19 Coach Knerem was happy to see her team looked a lot better and cleaned up the slop-

International athletes bring talent to AU

Many international athletes from all over the world come to be a part of the Ashland University sports teams.

Why do they choose to play for colleges in the U.S.? The majority don’t have college sports in their country and decide to come to the States to play collegiately, but it isn’t as easy as it seems. International athletes not only represent their country but bring a whole new competitive spirit to the university.

Robin Falk, a sophomore on the men’s swimming and diving team comes from Malmo, Sweden. Falk was able to discover AU was from word of mouth.

“I reached out to AU because my head coach from back home knew an athlete that was here some time ago that liked it. I came to the U.S. though because I wanted to do sports in college since they don’t offer that in Sweden” Falk said.

Junior soccer player Vander Rocha from Brazil had a very similar experience of how he discovered AU.

Rocha transferred from Daytona State College, a school in Florida he formerly attended.

“Although soccer had a big impact on my decision, I was really drawn to the business program here. I never heard of Ashland before, but I ended up visiting through friends and really appreciated the atmosphere here,” said Rocha. “I soon after got in contact with the soccer coaches, the assistant coach being from Brazil, and made some connections which brought me here.”

to the team. He currently plays as the No. 1 on the team.

Coach Tim Dunford, the men’s and women’s head tennis coach has enjoyed the heavy diversity the men’s international team brings.

“I would say the one thing that they bring is experience because a lot of them have been playing since they could hold a racquet,” said Dunford. “They bring just a whole different perspective to the game depending on the country you come from which also depends on their style of game, whether they serve and volley, they are a baseliner, a mixture of both, two or one-handed backhand, etc. Here in America, you don’t see that much variety.”

He also noted that this has been the hardest working team he has ever had.

Alongside being on the court, field, or pool, they are hard-working students as well. Some may not realize how much harder it is for some internationals when first attending classes.

For Falk, it was a challenge in the beginning for him.

“I’ve always had a lot in school while trying to balance it with several hours of practice a day. The education was challenging in the beginning because the school system is very different from the Swedish one as well as doing it in another language,” he said. “I remember having to translate a lot of the material in the beginning to understand the lectures. It was a challenge to take notes in English as well as I couldn’t do it fast enough.”

Falk stated that he wasn’t the best at English when he arrived and because of many athletes and friends, he got a lot of help with it.

Alongside Falk, Rocha has had to balance sports and school, which hasn’t been easy.

“I wouldn’t say balancing education and sports is easy, however, the school and coaches do a pretty good job of working around schedules and just knowing that we aren’t only athletes,” said Rocha.

BASEBALL

piness.

“This weekend, we want to clean up some of the sloppiness of throwing the ball around that happened on Sunday, as well as not giving up as many two-strike hits,” said Knerem.

Their one victory came against Missouri S&T, winning 5-4. It all started when senior center fielder Lauren McMillin was able to drive in two runs. Another big help was Struckman who batted 3-3 during the game. To finish the contest, senior pitcher Josie Duncan was able to pull off the win as she only gave up four hits and walked two players.

“It felt amazing to contribute to our win last weekend! I didn’t do my best offensively, so for it to come together in a key moment was the perfect way to help the team get the win. I can’t wait for the rest of the

season to compete with my teammates,” said senior Lauren McMillin.

The Eagles then went on to play in the Blue Bridge Battle over the Feb. 24 and 25. It was not a good two days for Eagles as they lost the four games they played. The team had an unfortunate loss against Missouri S&T 1-6.

“Continue to get better every day. We set a good foundation last weekend for the rest of the season and if we improve each day we step on the field, we will be in a phenomenal position at the end of the season to compete at the top of the conference,” said Knerem about their goals for the rest of the season.

The AU women’s softball team hopes to bounce back in the Spring Games tournament that will be held in Clermont Florida. It will be held March 4 through the 10.

Eagles triumph in weekend double header

and ended the weekend with 14 steals total.

He currently plays on a heavily diverse international team here at AU, and so does William Rassat, a sophomore on the men’s tennis team.

Rassat has come to AU from Veigy Foncenex, France, where he attended Kings Interhigh.

“I came to AU because it was the only school I was accepted from, I also really liked the coach and the teammates I spoke to before I got there,” said Rassatt.

He has been playing tennis for a total of about 11 years which brings great experience and adds strength

For Rocha, his favorite memory was when the soccer team won the conference tournament and for Rassat, his favorite memory was their spring break trip to Hilton Head.

For Falk, his favorite memories are when he is with his swim team doing things together and the swim meets.

The bonds that were created with the teammates, the time spent together, the countless victories, and the faculty, staff, and coaches have really made each of them feel their belonging.

The Ashland University men’s baseball team head back home with a clean sweep of the Concord Panthers of West Virginia. The Eagles trounced the Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 25, winning the game by a final score of 8-1. The Eagles then continued their winning ways, winning both games of the double header on Sunday, Feb. 26, by a score of 6-5 and 9-4 to complete the sweep.

Eagles fifth-year Seth Schroder commented on what a sweep meant for the team.

“Our goal is always to win the series but it is even better when we can sweep. It’s huge for our confidence,” said Scroder.

In the game on Saturday, the Eagles were led by a stellar start by starter Marshall Leischman, who pitched seven innings, allowing only one run off of four hits and only one walks. Leischman also struck out 12 batters, which is a career high for the sophomore from Ontario, Canada.

The offense shined for the Eagles on Saturday, as they were led by second baseman Ian Sanders, who went 2-3 at the plate, including the Eagles’ first home run, a two run moonshot in the second inning to make the game 3-0.

Earlier in the year, Head Coach John Schaly believed that the team was one of the fastest he’s ever coached, and that speed was put into play along the basepaths, as the Eagles stole 8 total bases on Saturday,

The first game of the double header on Sunday ended in a nervy, 6-5 win where the Eagles scored the go-ahead run in the top of the final inning.

They were led offensively by Schroder again, who hit a two run single in the top of the fifth to give the Eagles the lead after letting the panthers tie the game the half inning before. Schroder finished the weekend with a .429 batting average, and one strikeout to go along with the two RBIs.

The second game of the double header started out slow, with neither team putting up a run until the sixth inning. The floodgates were opened with pinch hitter Ben Platz, who came in for catcher Collin Overholt,

singled in the top of the seventh, to start a four run inning for the Eagles, Peltz finished the game with three hits on three at bats, including two RBIs to pull away for the Panthers late.

Peltz, who finished the weekend with 6 hits and 2 RBIs on 9 at bats, received high praise from Schroder.

“Peltz played really well this weekend, I knew that he was going to help us win, but his hitting and defense really stood out to me.” said Schroder.

The Eagles now look to Friday, March 3 where they fly down to Auburndale, Florida, to take part in the Russ Matt Invitational over the course of the next week, where they will face teams from across the country.

GAGE ELDRIDGE Reporter

Senior Josie Duncan pitching well against Missouri S&T.

CLAUDIA ADCOCK

Junior soccer player Vander Rocha transferred to Ashland from Daytona State College and is originally from Brazil.

CLAUDIA ADCOCK Reporter

“I wouldn’t say balancing education and sports is easy, however, the school and coaches do a pretty good job of working around schedules and just knowing that we aren’t only athletes.”

Vander Rocha Junior

STEPHEN STRUCKMANN Reporter

The Eagles look to build around its new young core in the 2022-2023 season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Perfect regular season, leads to hosting conference tournament

Eagles sit 28-0 overall on the season

ETHAN JENKINS Sports Editor

After 28 regular season games, the Ashland University women’s basketball team has finished an undefeated 2022-23 campaign.

Winning by an average margin of 27 points per game, it was a season that did not have many close calls, but that was not the case in the team’s last game against Malone.

The Eagles weren’t able to pull out the 59-55 win until the final moments of the contest.

Graduate guard Hallie Heidemann led the way scoring 19 points, while shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Finishing the regular season off on a high note was something that Heidemann knew was important to continue momentum into March.

“An undefeated regular season is an incredible testament to how special and deep this team really is,” said Heidemann. “Additionally, having an undefeated regular season would put our team in the best position possible heading into the postseason.”

Now the attention turns toward tournament time where the Eagles can’t do what they haven’t done all season, lose a game.

Senior Sam Chable, one of the

MEN’S BASKETBALL

veteran leaders of the team, knows the importance of taking the postseason one game at a time and not focusing too much on winning a national championship.

“The months of February and March can be hard because some people are so excited about what is to come in the future, howev-

AU Eagles prepare for GMAC playoffs

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) released the standings for the Midwest Region, where the Ashland’s Men’s Basketball squad are sitting at 5th overall.

The Eagles are currently 19-9 overall and 15-5 in the GMAC, putting this team in a good position come postseason. After a nail biting game this past Thursday, Feb. 23, against GMAC opponent Malone, the Eagles lost 86-80 after an outstanding comeback and performance by the Eagle men.

Senior guard Brandon Haraway’s 17-point game put him at a total of 1,498 points, putting

him at 12 in Ashland’s all time leading scoring list.

With one game left in the regular season, the Eagles look to bring back one more regular season win as they are set to take on Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday, Feb. 25, while on the road.

The NCAA is set to release the Division II regional rankings on March 1, and the tournament selection will be released on March 5 at 11 p.m.

The 2023 NCAA GMAC tournament will be Feb. 28 and March 3-4. The 2023 NCAA Division II Elite Eight, Final Four and Final Championship game will be at the end of March, specifically the 21, 23, and 25, set to be played in Evansville, Ind.

Mentality for these Eagles are going to play a very large factor in this postseason run. Team chemistry has become a strong part of the Eagles squad this year after bringing in eight new faces to the roster.

Senior veterans Ethan Conley and Brandon Haraway have both agreed and explained how important the mentality of the game is, especially during the post regular season stretch.

“We’ve really been getting mentally sharp. It’s a long season, and it’s about to be over. We want to finish out strong, and give our best every time we step on the court,” stated Conley.

Haraway and Conley have both been key players to this team as they lead as some of the few veterans/returning players this season.

“Our preparation has been heavy on the mental parts of the game,” said Haraway. “We’ve been focusing on working hard to understand the team that we’re playing along with and understanding their tendencies.”

The Eagles are hoping for a winning postseason run to end their 2022-2023 season.

er, we emphasize that our primary focus needs to be on the present and the next game in front of us,” said Chable.

Every game this season so far has resulted in another W in the win column, but that does not mean the team has played up to standards every game.

Head Coach Kari Pickens, has been proud of her team’s ability to fight through tough situations in games to grow as a group and prepare them for March.

“This team just finds a way to weather the storm. There were games we did not play particularly well, but we found a way to win such as Findlay and Tiffin… It’s things like that, that put us in the position we are now,” said Pickens.

The Eagles will look to continue to weather the storm, if it comes about, in the postseason.

The Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament continues through March 4 where the Eagles are looking to continue their path toward a national championship.

›› GREAT MIDWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The GMAC Semifinal is set for March 3, tipoff TBA.

The GMAC Championship is set for March 4, tipoff TBA.

AU no longer bringing bowling on as a sport

ETHAN JENKINS Sports Editor

On Sept. 22, 2022, the Ashland University athletic department announced the addition of men’s and women’s bowling to the athletic offerings. Just 76 days later on Dec. 7 the internal plans to add the sport were halted.

Both bowling teams would have been the 24 and 25 athletic teams added, but after doing further research of the difficulties the sport provides to start up the athletic department decided to not pursue those teams further.

“It would take longer than eSports and Lacrosse to get the program started,” said Athletic Director Al King.

“We wanted to get bowling up eventually to 10-12 participants after three years, and I talked to another school and they had just gotten to 13 in their fifth year. I wasn’t convinced we could get to those numbers with where we are at right now,” he continued.

The process to get a new sport off the ground is a long one, this time which included interviewing four coaches for the bowling head coach position and finding lanes to play the games on.

After Ashland announced its plan to go into bowling, other surrounding Ohio schools, such as Ohio Northern and Baldwin Wallace Universities stated their plan to start a program as well.

“Bowling is strong in Akron, Canton and Cleveland, and I wasn’t convinced we could recruit student athletes here over those other schools,” said Al King.

Now with all the research and groundwork already done, if the university decides to eventually bring back bowling it should be a much shorter process than the original steps to try to make bowling a possibility at AU.

ETHAN JENKINS

“An undefeated regular season is an incredible testament to how special and deep this team really is.”

Hallie Heidemann Graduate Guard

OLIVIA PLISKE Reporter

OLIVIA PLISKE

Forward Andrew Keep, Guard Derrick James, Forward Ethan Conley and Forward Maceo Williams.

AU ATHLETICS

Ashland University’s men’s basketball team secured a birth in the conference tournament.

the scoop

BSA and WOE celebrate excellence in annual collaborative ball

AU President Dr. Carlos Campo as opposed to the 2022 Celebration of Excellence’s 60 people in attendance.

On Feb. 24, Women of Excellence

(WOE) and the Black Student Alliance

(BSA) hosted the Celebration of Excellence Ball, an event for student organizations under the Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Access umbrella and other students to show their support to the local charity “Love on a Mission” while allowing the chance to express themselves in a formal manner.

This is the second year the Celebration of Excellence Ball was able to be held consecutively and was completely sold out days before the event with a total of just over 120 people in attendance, including

Many who were in attendance explain that the event was a welcome outlet with Reslife Coordinator Sara Pison saying that “The speeches were excellent” and that she “was happy to see so many people in attendance for the event.”

The event offered activities such as speeches from the student organizers as well as speeches from the representatives from “Love on a Mission”, a raffle for various prize baskets with the funds going to the previously mentioned charity along with the proceeds from the tickets sold for the event. In total over $1,000 was raised for “Love on a Mission”.

Excellence Ball

Adjunct professor Debra Weaver was present for the event as a representative of “Love on a Mission’’ and gave a speech stating how thankful the organization was to the student organizers as well as the office of DEI stating that the funds raised by the event would help LGBTQ+ children in need.

After the event a candlelight vigil to those who have lost their lives to gun violence was held.

A moment of silence was observed after which Zoe Bogarty, president of Women of Excellence, recited a poem that she wrote on the topic of privilege and how it is still prevalent in today’s society. Notable organizations in attendance included groups such as Eagles for Pride, The sorority Theta Phi Alpha, Women of excellence, Black Student Alliance, Student Senate, representatives from the charity “Love on a Mission” as well as departments such as the office of Residence Life, Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Access, Student Affairs, and representatives from the Ashbrook Center.

BRYCE SHAFER Design Editor

BRYCE SHAFER

Brielle Nettles, director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Access, also advises Women of Excellence and Black Student Alliance.

BRYCE SHAFER

Following the candlelight vigil, attendees observe a moment of silence.

BRYCE SHAFER

BSA President Ashley Speight assists with speeches during the event.

BRYNN MEISSE

Members of BSA and WOE sell raffle baskets ranging from a diploma case to a movie night basket.

BRYNN MEISSE

BSA and WOE host a candlelight vigil for those who lost their lives to gun violence.

BRYNN MEISSE

$1,000 was raised for “Love on a Mission,” a local LGBT charity.