This year is a big year for AUSG Undergraduate Senate. With a passionate group of freshman senators, and more women than ever before, this year’s Senators are making waves on campus. Together, Stephie Maravankin ’18, Shannon McDermott ’18, and Jasmine Nadim ’18, are taking charge of the senate by tackling issues such as food on campus, improving relations between senators and students, and representing the students who need it the most. Meet the ladies who are making a difference – one bill at a time.
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Name: Shannon McDermott
Hometown: Marlboro, New Jersey
Year: Freshman
HCAU: What is your position on AU’s Senate?
SM: In Senate, I am the committee chairwoman of University and Academic Affairs. We have committees in Senate, and the way the committees are set up is that bills have to pass through committees before they go to full Senate, and I’m in charge of the committee that has bills sent to the University and Academic Affairs. I’m also on the Special Committee on Finance, which is an elected committee. We do budget reallocations and stuff like that. I’m also head of a dining commission, which was created in Senate, but is not all senators. So I’m heading it, and we just work on dining issues on campus.
HCAU: Why did you join Senate?
SM: I did it to help the students. It’s so cliché, but it’s true. I really wanted to make a difference at AU and I figured that that was the best way to do it. I love AU so much, that I want to kind of give back to AU and the students.
HCAU: When were you elected?
SM:Â I was elected with our fall election cycle so around late October, early November.
HCAU:Â What do you hope to accomplish on the Senate?
SM: The big thing that I’m trying to do right now is work with the dining commission to bring food trucks on to campus. It’s been really fun. I wrote a bill a little while ago. I also contacted Georgetown University because they have food trucks on their campus, and I figured out what they do. So now I’m trying to implement their program here at AU. I would love to have that. My goal is to have two or three food trucks on campus once or twice a month, like on a Friday or something like that, for students. I really want to have that done by the end of the semester. That’s my big goal.
HCAU:Â What makes you feel powerful?
SM: Pink lipstick. And being able to get things done with a smile on my face. It makes me feel good to be able to do something while being excited about it; being able to talk to people, and get things done, and be positive about it and passionate about what I’m working on. That’s what makes me feel good – doing work for people and for myself that I’m excited about. I like to feel positive about the challenges in front of me – that makes me feel powerful.
HCAU: What’s your favorite place in D.C.?
SM: The Hirshhorn Museum. It’s on the National Mall and it’s a modern art museum. It’s so cool. That and the National Portrait Gallery because I really like art.
HCAU:Â If you could be any fruit, which one would you be?
SM: A kiwi. I would love to be a kiwi. They’re very sweet, and I like to be nice. They’re also small, and I’m short, so I identify with that. They’re just so cute.
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Name: Jasmine Nadim
Hometown: Piedmont, California
Year: Freshman
HCAU:Â What is your position on AU Senate?
JM:Â I am a senator for the Campus at Large and the chair of the Committee on Campus Life. Senator means representing the people during regular senate meetings (which are at 1 o’ clock on Sundays), also writing bills, debating bills, proposing bills and resolutions. As committee chair, I run the committee that deals with bills and resolutions on campus life issues, so it has to pass through us before it passes through full Senate. Every week we split our proposed bills and resolutions into committees to deal with them beforehand. And then I serve on the Committee on Roles and Privileges, which is made up of all the committee chairs.Â
HCAU:Â Why did you run for Senate?
JM: I think there needs to be more diversity, like gender diversity and racial diversity, within the Senate. Currently, a lot of upper class white males serve on Senate. There are not a lot of females, there’s not a lot of African-Americans, there’s not a lot of mixed race people. It’s getting better; there’s a lot more girls now than there ever have been. But at the same time, its still not fully there yet. Other than that, I really wanted to bring a voice to the people that don’t really feel like student government represents them – people who feel that Student Government doesn’t mean anything to them or doesn’t do anything for them – like victims of sexual assault who feel like they haven’t been represented or fairly fought for. I wanted to do stuff for them.
HCAU:Â How long have you served?
JM: I was appointed in August, and then I ran in September. So I’ve served basically my entire time at AU.
HCAU:Â What do you hope to accomplish?
JM: I originally went in with the intention of being a funnel for people’s voices, because sometimes it can be hard when everyone wants something done. Everyone has all these ideas, and they all have this one core value that they want to be translated into legislation, but they don’t all know how to get that done. I wanted to be the person that allowed those ideas to come to fruition and become tangible change within the campus. I also want to change the organization to make sure that we really focus on the students’ needs and not just what the senators want.
HCAU:Â What are you most proud of?
JM: I’m proud that I got elected with the most votes when I first came here. I put a lot of work and time into running for senator, so I’m happy that it paid off.
HCAU:Â What is your favorite spot on campus?
JM: The quad when the weather is warm and everyone’s out.
HCAU:Â Favorite flavor of ice cream?
JM: I’m lactose intolerant.
HCAU:Â What’s your favorite dessert, then?
JM:Â I really like cake. Tiramisu would be my number one if I wasn’t lactose intolerant.Â
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Name:Â Stephie Maravankin
Year: Freshman
HCAU:Â Where are you from?
SM:Â I was born in Argentina, that’s definitely how I identify. And then I moved to south Florida a few years ago.
HCAU:Â What is your position on the Senate?
SM: I am a senator for the class of 2018, but I am currently on a leave of absence because I am the Elections Commissioner and I didn’t want there to be a conflict of interest. [As Elections Commissioner, I’m working for Student Government, but not for the Senate.] So I serve two big roles in Student Government. And then on the Senate, I am on the Special Committee on Finance and then I’m also on the C.O.P.S Committee, it’s the Communications, Outreach, Programming, and Services Committee.
HCAU:Â Why did you want to join Senate?
SM: I came in as a freshman and I knew that I wanted to be a part of something bigger, and something that helps to create meaningful change. I knew that I wanted to be a part of the group that was advocating on behalf of students. That’s why I joined. I knew that I had a powerful voice; I knew that I could be an advocate. I knew that I was passionate about change, and that I wanted to instill that in my community. And since joining the Senate, I think that there are things that I’ve done to fulfill that, and there are definitely obstacles that I’ve encountered.
HCAU:Â What kind of obstacles?
SM: I know that sometimes it’s easy to pass a resolution, and then it’s hard to actually go out on campus and talk to the administration that’s necessary or find the people that you need to really kick-start what it is that you want to change – that can be really tough sometimes. It can also be tough to be transparent. Sometimes senators have ideas and we don’t always know if it’s exactly what this campus wants. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding what it is that the people that I represent want me to do for them. So I think that its repairing this communication bridge that has a lot of holes in it, and really patching it up, and figuring out ways that [senators and students] can work better as a team. I know that in my COPS Committee, I helped pass a Town Hall bill, so right now, every week on Thursdays, the Senate has a town hall. We encourage any student to come, and to just sit with us in the office and talk about whatever they want. It’s not necessarily our office hours. It’s more conversational, there’s food, you can bring your friends. That’s one way that we’re trying to bridge that communication gap and get students to feel more comfortable around senators, and realize that we’re approachable.Â
The freshman class that has come in and joined senate, are all really powerful and passionate about change and making things happen. And I think it’s very obvious. I know that since serving, I was the first female to be on the Finance Committee, and that was a big step. And I was one of the first females to be on Senate this year, and we’ve grown in numbers since. And now I’m the Elections Commissioner, and the first female to ever be the Elections Commissioner. Being Elections Commissioner is a really big deal, and the impact that elections have on our campus is huge. So to be in charge of such an evolving process on such a politically active campus is a really big deal
HCAU:Â What makes you feel powerful?
SM: I think knowing that I’m respected by others, and knowing that people value the things that I have to say makes me feel powerful. I know that the fact that I trust my voice, and I trust the person that I am, and the person that I continue to grow and become everyday – someone who is compassionate, yet can be aggressive. Someone who is strong and very committed to her studies, but at the same time, is always finding those opportunities that can make me grow or can make my circle of friends or peers or mentors grow. Like I’m always looking for those opportunities. So really the fact that I trust myself, and I’m confident, and I know that people respect me; I think that makes me feel powerful
HCAU: What’s your favorite Disney movie?
SM:Â Okay you have to think that I was in Argentina so I watched these in Spanish. Probably the Lion King. To this day, I think that I still know every single word of the Lion King. I was never into princesses.
HCAU:Â Favorite spot on campus?
SM: When it’s warm, it’s the rooftop garden on the third floor of the McKinley building. And when its cold, probably my bed.
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