Two weeks ago, The University of Dallas’ Student Government held elections for this year’s class senators. The five students selected by their classmates to represent the freshman class are Theodore Andrews, Joaquin Alvarez, Isabelle Escobar, Norah Felefli, and Aidan Nguyen.
Joaquin Alvarez ‘29 is a Business major. He said, “I ran for senate because I believe I can represent my class by connecting with as many of my peers as possible and serving as a down-to-earth and accessible ambassador”. This is Alvarez’s first time being involved in a student government. Regarding his goals for the year, he said “I plan to help form many new clubs this year, as well as assist with fundraising for them”. In his free time, Alvarez enjoys playing soccer and tennis, running, and reading.
Isabelle (Izzy) Escobar ‘29 is a History and Politics double major. Escobar is the daughter of two UD alumni and commented, “I essentially grew up at this school”. She loves UD, its legacy and its people, and said she ran for senate because “I want to leave a lasting impression here, and that starts with acting upon the wants and needs of my classmates”.
Escobar, who wants to attend law school after college, said “I found the Administrative Functions Committee to be a great fit”. In high school, Escobar was part of a committee of students who dealt with disciplinary issues, held cultural events, and attended conferences on global events. When asked if she had any goals for this year, Escobar said,“I would absolutely love to see more student art around campus”, and added that in addition to her duties as a senator, she plans to start a dance club next session .
Norah Felefli ‘29 is a Politics major. She says “I ran for senate because I am passionate about leading change and increasing community throughout the school”. Felefli was a class officer throughout high school, and served as class president for her grade during junior and senior year. She is currently serving as part of the Crusader Outreach Committee. Felefli says “Some goals I’d like to achieve include helping all students become more involved around the school and for everyone to feel they have an outlet for fun outside of academics”. Felefli also said she hopes to have a hand in improving gym hours.
Aidan Nguyen ‘29 is a Biology major.When asked why he ran for senator, he said, “I wanted to get more involved with the school and to be able to be a communicating mouthpiece directly between the administration and students”. He also said that he wants to get to know his classmates better and believes he can do that by representing them as a senator.
Nguyen said that when he was in high school, “I wasn’t directly a student executive but I was friends with most of them and helped them out with their projects as a friend, volunteer, and member of the student council”. He continued “I feel that I’m prepared with my high school background to better the school and foster a stronger community”.
Nguyen is currently involved with the Student Concerns Committee,which runs SG on the Mall. Nguyen said, “I hope to help the student body with the current poor facilities management by taking their concerns…to the administrative staff in order to try to change who manages the facilities…Third party management is the reason for slow work-orders and limited help for mold and dorm issues”.
In his free time, Nyuyen loves to play sports, including tennis (he was captain of his tennis team all four years of high school), volleyball, ping-pong, soccer, and spikeball. He also enjoys performing card tricks, playing chess, and collecting cards.
Porter Schmidt, senior Politics major and President of UD’s Student Government, said that the Executive Council is aiming for two goals this year.
“Firstly, we will strive towards making UD a cohesive community that functions as one. UD operates around our shared Catholic Faith…With that principle in mind, we see no reason why the artificial social divide — between student-athletes, humanities students, and STEM students — should exist. We share the same faith driving us, and we share the same liberal arts push toward virtue. …[W]e also aim to include the staff and faculty on this campus in our community. The various staff and organizations that serve to make this community function, especially Aramark and HES, are just as much a part of this shared Christian identity and shared focus on virtue, so there is no reason why they should be treated as a separate group. We hope to work towards bringing everyone together into a cohesive whole united in our Lord, and this is what will serve to make UD the best Catholic Liberal Arts university in the nation,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt continued: “Secondly, we will be implementing true subsidiarity within the student government so that we can become a sustainable, long-term part of this campus. Student government exists as a free and rational deliberative body of students…coming together in rational discourse to serve our peers. Therefore, the senators will be doing much of the work themselves, with the Executive Council functioning more as a guiding hand and supporting role for them, and mediating between the student body and the administration”.