Student Senate elections are live until 11:59 p.m. today. The ballot link was sent via email to the student body on Monday, Sept. 14.

Elijah Aladin

Obies,

I am a dedicated and ambitious first-year student with high hopes to bring change to Oberlin. My vision, if elected to the Student Senate, is to ease the transition for incoming students by improving the effectiveness of existing facilities. During orientation, for example, I heard whispers about frequent nervous breakdowns and mental health issues, yet there was little information about the resources available to help with these issues. I discovered that, while we have a health center, it’s separated from most of the campus! This should better publicized and more accessible.

Additionally, there is a ban on tobacco products being imposed on the campus beginning next school year. I don’t think that is the solution. Not everyone should be subjected to cigarette smoke, but it is equally wrong to deny students the right to smoke. There need to be several designated smoking areas that are reachable from anywhere on campus.

Finally, I want to ensure consistent communication between the faculty, administration and students so that we can work to make our community safer and beneficial for everyone.

This experience should be as great as possible, and with your help and your vote, we can accomplish that today!

Endorsed by the Oberlin College Democrats

Jesse Docter

My name is Jesse Docter, and I’m a College sophomore and prospective Politics major. I believe that Student Senate has the capacity to be an important instrument of change at Oberlin. The Senate can amplify and legitimize the demands of students in the eyes of the administration, and we can move this institution closer to our ideal of it. One demand that I personally would like to see Oberlin take more seriously is the demand for greater financial accessibility. The financial aid policies of Oberlin College are serious barriers to racial and economic diversity on this campus. Increasing economic accessibility is a crucial step if we intend to make Oberlin a more progressive and inclusive institution. Last year, a wave of financial accessibility activism established the issue as a priority for much of Oberlin’s student body. The advocacy petered out, but I think greater involvement with Student Senate and a willingness to cooperate and be a part of the administration’s policy-making process can bring about change this year. In addition to financial aid advocacy, I would love the opportunity to represent the voices of Oberlin students on any and every issue that the Student Senate can influence.

Endorsed by the Oberlin College Democrats

Joshua Koller

To the graduating class this year, congratulations; to the first-year class, welcome; and to everyone at Oberlin College, hello and thank you for voting for Student Senate. My name is Josh Koller (he, him, his), and I am a sophomore Africana Studies and Law and Society double major. In my time at Oberlin, I’ve participated in school affairs as a member of the Presidential Working Group of Safety and Security, a committee created to ensure oversight within Safety and Security and positive relationships between Safety and Security and students. Although I am extremely proud to be a student at Oberlin College, I recognize that there are changes that can be made to benefit the student body and the College as a whole and believe representing my peers as a student senator is a great way to enact positive change on this campus. I look forward to advocating on your behalf in Senate plenaries and to meeting any of you that I don’t yet know.

Endorsed by the Oberlin College Democrats

Cory Ventresca

My name is Cory Ventresca, and I’m a junior Asia House resident running for re-election to Student Senate. Last year, I ran with an idea of a more inclusive Senate and a promise to replace the draconian rules of the tobacco ban with more balanced ones.

While my peers and I were successful in making last year’s Senate a more functional body than it had been in past iterations, the tobacco ban still passed in the December 2014 meeting of the General Faculty. I voted against the tobacco ban in that meeting, and I now serve on the Tobacco-Free Policy Implementation Committee, where I am still fighting for a common sense interpretation of the policy that both protects students’ liberties and health.

This year, I want to see furthered student body-student government relations after having spent much of last year as Operations Manager, working on improving Senate from the inside. While the spring 2015 elections saw the greatest turnout in our history, it was still only 27 percent. A more engaged student body means a more representative Senate, and at the end of the day, we work for you!

Endorsed by the Oberlin College Democrats

Henry DuBeau

I am a sophomore and a potential double major in Theater and Law and Society. Throughout my first year, I spent much time getting to know members from all over the Oberlin community, from WOBC to the Equestrian Team to Oberlin Musical Theater Association and everyone in between. Along the way, I have heard many of you voice your concerns, and my goal as a Student Senator is to encourage meaningful discussions of diverse perspectives to promote the welfare of all students. Some of the issues I want to tackle include financial accessibility at Oberlin, the transparency of our Student Government and establishing greater connections with the town’s residents. I intend to use my previous experience in student government from high school to become an even more effective advocate for you here at Oberlin. Thank you, and I greatly appreciate your support.

Endorsed by the Responsible Investing Organization

Endorsed by the Oberlin Harry Potter Alliance

Cyrus Alexander Eosphoros

Being completely honest: I am a white-passing Mexican international student, a queer transgender man and visibly and multiply disabled. I hope that existing at these intersections will help me represent the underrepresented communities I belong to and understand the people whose identities I don’t share.

I’ve held leadership and peer support roles formally and informally, largely in the Baldwin Cottage community. I’ve also been involved in the Socialist Collective, am involved with a nascent trans and non-binary group on campus and currently work for the Review.

Criticism aside, Oberlin has improved me. That is why I would like to return the favor.

Anjali Kolachalam

Hey Oberlin! I am Anjali Kolachalam, and I’m running for my second term on Student Senate. I’m running because although our time on campus is short, I want the years we spend here to be the best they can be. That means making sure that the Student Support Initiatives Fund, which is a valuable and important resource, is available and utilized by everyone who needs it. It also means listening to student feedback on how to improve campus life and making students feel engaged on Oberlin issues. Having worked to expand the Meals over Breaks program piloted by last year’s Senate, I hope to work this year to make it the best it can be. As head of the Student Engagement and Student Support Initiative working groups, I have experience working with students on campus. Also, as co-chair of South Asian Students Association I recognize that diversity and inclusion are important issues to be discussed and addressed on campus. I look forward to continuing the dialogue with you and making this not just a great year, but one that builds on Oberlin’s legacy and values. Thanks, and I appreciate your vote!

Dan Lev

I am running my campaign on three topics I find need to be addressed on this campus. First, I call for queen-sized beds in every room. The tyranny of sharing a twin single must be stopped. If you prefer to sleep alone, that is completely acceptable. At least now you can have more room. Second, I will work to raise the registered party limit from 25 to 45. How does the administration expect us to turn up effectively when a registered party cannot even cover the size of one full squad? Third, I want to address the permanent necessity for a $2 smoothie special at DeCafé. The strawberry special offered several semesters ago was dank. We need more of that.

Daniel Marcelle

I am running for Student Senate because I believe I would be a valuable member and would help contribute to Oberlin and the community. One of the issues I am very passionate about is the environment. There are a lot of little things we can do to make our campus more environmentally friendly through low-cost solar panel initiatives and expanded recycling opportunities. I hope to be that positive voice for the environment and other initiatives that would help improve Oberlin and the lives of students in Student Senate. Improving safety for students will also be one of my priorities if I am elected. There are cost effective, simple ways to make the campus safer that I hope to implement. I hope you will consider voting for me.

Kirsten Mojziszek

Hey Oberlin, my name is Kirsten Mojziszek (Mose), and in a twist of events, I am running for Student Senate. In the past year, I have had experience as president of both my high school’s drama club and sketch comedy club, as well as holding the positions of secretary and vice president within those clubs in previous years. I often acted as a student liaison between school faculty and student members, worked to include opinions of all students into club activities, conducted board meetings and planned school-wide events with a combination of community adults, students and high school faculty. I hope to bring these skills to the Oberlin Student Senate by advocating for campus issues such as allyship and student health. I would like to be available to whoever might want to discuss Oberlin policies and problems and bring their concerns to the Student Senate whenever possible. If elected, I will do my part to be the best liaison between students and faculty that I can be. If you’d like to vote for me, go for it! If not, that’s chill too! Either way, have a good day.

Jacob Nadel

On my second visit to Oberlin, I attended a student panel in which the panelists were asked why they chose to attend this school. The answer that stood out to me was this: “Oberlin is a place where people are completely, unapologetically themselves.”

Oberlin College is the first place I have felt truly at home, and that is why I could not be more excited at the opportunity to help change it for the better, to make it a place where we all can grow and thrive. Yes, Oberlin may be one of the most progressive schools in the country, but we cannot rest until we have come to a point where everyone on our campus can feel like they can be “unapologetically themselves.”

I believe my experience as the liaison between my school’s young Democrats club and our town’s Democratic town committee, as well as my general approachability, friendly attitude and positive outlook, make me an ideal candidate for Student Senate. As a Senator, I will easily be able to bring student complaints to the administration and ensure that said complaints are addressed, and that change as a whole is created.

Have a good day!