During the Nov. 19 Student Senate meeting, the Student Senate voted in two new senators — Grace Naylor and Ella Rundquist.
Both new senators were appointed by Speaker of the Senate Matthew Phan and then approved by a Senate vote.
Grace Naylor — underserved senator
Naylor is a freshman majoring in political science and minoring in university honors and Spanish.
Naylor said that in her new role she wants to focus on expanding options at the Shocker Dining Hall and addressing concerns about the experience of dining hall visitors with specific food requirements.
“I’m a freshman, so I’m required to have the meal plan,” Naylor said. “I’m also required to live on campus, and I do not go home — I live three hours away. So the options are not very diverse for some students.”
Naylor then related that to a student she knew who couldn’t eat pork.
“A student that could not eat pork was told that something was beef, and they did consume that pork,” Naylor said.
The focus of her planned initiative will be to make ingredients in meals clearer and better inform the dining hall employees about the meals’ ingredients.
Engineering Senator Alex Le asked Naylor how she was going to “reach out to the underserved to the best of (her) ability.”
Naylor answered, “One thing I take pride in is listening. I think good leaders aren’t just going to be the first to step into a role and talk. So, I’m going to explore some options into reaching out with (the underserved).”
Underserved Senator Evelyn Lewis asked Naylor if she was currently a part of an underserved community or is planning on joining any.
Naylor answered, “Personally, I have been looking into joining more underserved communities. I will be directly honest with you guys, the town I come from has a population of 800 people, so before I stepped into Wichita State I was not exposed to diverse communities. But I have opened my arms to all of it. I want to learn about every single part of the underserved communities.”
Naylor was appointed as an underserved commissioner on the Student Government Association’s finance commission at the Sept. 3 Student Senate meeting.
Ella Rundquist — adult learner senator
Rundquist is a junior studying integrated marketing communication.
“While I might not fit the formal definition of an adult learner, I proudly stand here today to represent them,” Rundquist said. “My own path to Wichita State was nontraditional — I transferred after completing my associate’s degree online — and I’m slightly older than the average student on campus.”
Wichita State considers students adult learners if they are 24 or older when they come to WSU to pursue an undergraduate degree, or return after a break of 2 or more years. .
Runquist said that her experiences through transferring from online learning somewhere else to being on campus at Wichita State give her “insights into the unique challenges faced by students who are balancing significant external responsibilities.”
The new adult learner senator said she wants to create a “supportive atmosphere” for adult learners.
Runquist was appointed as an adult learner commissioner on SGA’s finance commission at the Nov. 12 Student Senate meeting.
