By Joana Karoshi | Staff Writer
Ashlyn Graves: Student Body President
DeRidder, Louisiana senior Ashlyn Graves initially had no plans to become involved with student government. However, after a conversation with a representative tabling at Late Night her freshman year, she decided to get involved. Graves was elected and reelected as a senator her freshman and sophomore years before running for internal vice president as a junior.
“I was involved in leadership in some other organizations,” Graves said. “I really feel like this is where God wanted me to use my gifts and my strengths.”
Graves said she has a different approach than most elected student officials. Instead of a long list of priorities, she wants to continue to support initiatives that are already happening and strengthen the relationship with the administration.
“I’m really grateful for the way that Baylor is already offering and for our administration; I really trust and respect them,” Graves said. “I really want to come along and support, rather than trying to use time to change things or add new things.”
One initiative is the partnership with the Waco Transit Program, in which students can use Waco transit for free with a student ID on fixed routes, beginning this month. Graves said Student Government has worked on the program for two years.
“This is a huge deal for international and out-of-state students as well as students who do not own a car,” she said. “Now they’re able to go to the grocery store or go to the doctor, and they can do that without the added cost.”
Student Government will continue its airport shuttle program during university holidays, which provides transportation for students traveling home when campus is closed.
Graves also created a new position in her cabinet, the Student Engagement Coordinator, to oversee Baylor’s 400 student organizations and maintain relationships with them. She said Student Government has struggled to stay connected with organizations as officers focus on internal issues.
“If we have been elected to represent students, we need actually to know the students and be able to represent them,” Graves said.
Graves said the three student body officers meet monthly with university administrators, with the student officers helping set the agenda for those meetings. The meetings allow Student Government to raise student concerns while also helping student leaders understand the administration’s perspective.
Graves said the biggest challenge facing Baylor students is not necessarily affordability or other higher education concerns, but figuring out why they are at Baylor and what they want from their college experience.
Graves said college can be a time when students are trying to understand their identity, purpose and what they want from life.
Lucy Dennis: External Vice President
Parker junior Lucy Dennis said her approach to student government is rooted in improving the student experience and serving others. Dennis, who previously served in the Student Senate as a committee chair and chaplain, said Micah 6:8 — “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” — shapes her approach to leadership.
“This verse, to me, means taking students’ needs seriously, approaching leadership as service and doing so in a way that honors a position that is much bigger than me,” Dennis said.
As external vice president, Dennis said she sees her role as a “bridge builder” between Baylor students and outside partners, including Baylor Athletics, local businesses, alumni and peer universities, to improve the student experience.
“We are forming a new athletics student advisory council,” Dennis said. “This is a goal that we have to give students a stronger voice.”
The Athletic Student Advisory Council will meet monthly to provide feedback to Baylor Athletics on the student experience. Topics will include game-day experiences, traditions and barriers that may prevent students from attending games. Students will receive information from Athletics that they can bring back to their respective communities.
Dennis also plans to continue strengthening Baylor’s relationships with Waco businesses through initiatives such as Wonders of Waco and Baylor Waco Perks.
Wonders of Waco, which launched last year, brings local businesses to campus to introduce students to their services. Baylor Waco Perks offers students discounts at participating local businesses when they show their Baylor ID. Dennis said she hopes to increase awareness of these resources while strengthening Baylor’s relationship with the surrounding community.
Her cabinet will work on initiatives involving athletics, alumni, multicultural affairs, local partnerships and the preservation of student government history through the Texas Collection, Dennis said.
Advocacy is a major part of the external vice president’s work. Every spring, Baylor student government representatives travel to Washington, D.C., for the Big 12 on the Hill conference, where student representatives from Big 12 universities meet with lawmakers to advocate on issues affecting higher education.
Dennis said topics can include affordability and textbook costs, and representatives spend weeks preparing with university administrators and campus partners before the trip.
She said students may not immediately see the results of that advocacy or the work of the Athletic Student Advisory Council because some initiatives take months or years to produce visible changes.
Chandler Johnson: Internal Vice President
Argyle senior Chandler Johnson first became involved with Student Government as a senator during her sophomore year before serving as Operations and Procedures Committee chair and Finance Committee chair.
Johnson said one of her priorities as internal vice president is expanding Student Government’s reach and creating more opportunities for students to get involved.
One of the ways she hopes to do that is through the Senate’s Student Government Allocation Fund, which she said receives $500,000 annually to distribute to student organizations.
Student organization funding is another focus. Johnson said Student Government’s RISE Fund currently provides cultural student organizations with up to $500 per semester for expenses such as food and T-shirts. She said Student Government is considering expanding the fund to include more smaller student organizations.
Johnson, along with the Campus Improvements and Affairs Committee, in partnership with Student Life, has been working on this year’s opening of a new cycle studio at the SLC. Other priorities include additional water refill stations along the Bear Trail, more study spaces and new furniture around Fountain Mall.
Johnson also wants to increase representation within the Senate Executive Council, which consists of Senate committee chairs. She plans to use a provision in the Student Body Constitution to add vice-chair positions to the council.
The change would require a bill and would allow more students and perspectives to participate in the council, she said.
Taken together, Johnson said these initiatives are intended to make Student Government more accessible to students and create more opportunities for them to get involved.
“My biggest goal this year is to expand our footprint,” Johnson said. “We have a spot for every single student on campus.”
