Fresh faces bring fresh ambitions to WCSA

The Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) kicked off the year with more new members than last semester and with new goals for the future.

First on the Feb. 2 meeting’s agenda was the appointment of several senators, a title that reflects the recent name-change of WCSA Full Body to WCSA Full Senate.

“This year’s Senate has a lot less juniors on it then we have typically had in past years,” President Jerry Lherison said.

That swing from the norm has led to the majority of WCSA members serving their first-ever term. There are still at least 10 members who have previous WCSA experience, and with the blend of veteran members coupled with renewed enthusiasm, there should be a lot of positive energy and things to come, Lherison said. That energy will be focused, among other things, on two goals: a bottle-free initiative and gender-inclusive housing.

“We are starting the discussions of trying to eliminate bottled water on campus and being completely renewable in that regard,” junior and senator Scout Trogstad-Isaacson said. A resolution that supports efforts by the Spectrum Resource Center to introduce gender inclusive housing to Ohio Wesleyan University was read as well, and will be introduced next week.

Resolutions and bills must go through a several week-long process of readings at full Senate meetings, followed by time to debate the issue at hand and make amendments. Once they successfully complete this process, the Senate can pass legislation.

Resolutions were not the only thing introduced. The executive committee welcomed new personnel to their side of the table. Graham Littlehale was approved as the Senate’s treasurer.  Sophomore Andy Lowenbaum was welcomed as a senator, filling the vacancy left by junior Matt McCord’s resignation.

“I realized that the current administration and I had a fundamental difference of opinion regarding the way forward for WCSA’s structure, and so I decided to refocus my energies to better serve the organization and its constituents,” McCord said.

“Matt is still involved with what we do, it just won’t be on a week to week basis,” Lherison said. That involvement will center around work on the WCSA website. According to Lherison, the site is very outdated and is a project that the executive committee has wanted to prioritize.

According to Lherison, this first meeting was a positive start to the term and serves a great indicator of the potential that this year’s student government will show.