John Martens, the Student Senate President, is a senior biology major, graduating this May. He has been a liaison between the students and the President of Le Moyne College, and has been a voice in most of the decisions that have been made to make Le Moyne a better college.
What is your position on Student Senate and since when?
Why did you want the position?
I was involved with the Senate for so long and served under some great past presidents. I really wanted a chance to do it myself. I was very excited to be able to establish relationships with administrators and to be able to give my direct feedback to them about the issues on campus. Being able to speak as a representative of the student body was a very rewarding experience and I wanted to make sure the students opinions were heard by the administration.
What other clubs/organizations have you been involved in?
I have been involved with the Organizational Finance Review Committee (OFRC) and also Pre-Health Society.
What has been the toughest situation you’ve been put in having this position on senate?
What was your goal when starting? Have you succeeded?
My main goal this year was to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Senate. We did not have any major issues to deal with this year, so much effort was put into restructuring the Senate and changing our constitution so that we will be able to better represent the student body in the coming years. An example of this would be the club budget process that caused so many problems this year. We have changed the OFRC process so that clubs will be able to have a finalized budget within the first three weeks of the semester so they can begin planning events immediately. We also finished the revisions of the alcohol policy that was started last year. This is something that affects the entire student community and I think for the better. This will go into effect this fall.
What is one thing you would like to change, but can’t?
I think many of the concerns that I would like to see addressed have to do with facility improvements such as better upper level housing and library renovations that will take place in the future. One thing I would like to see happen is for Le Moyne to allow more senior students to live off campus.
You graduate this year right? What do you plan to do after graduation?
After graduation, I am working at the University of Rochester for the year. In the fall of 2012, I plan on being enrolled in a Master’s in Public Health Program to pursue a career in health policy.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
This semester has been great for me in terms of hobbies. I am a guitar player and was lucky enough to be able to take a class in which we went to a recording studio once or twice a week and learned production and recording techniques. We also got a chance to record our own original material which was an amazing experience. I have been investing a lot of time into my music this past semester so much of my free time is spent doing that.
Thank you John for all the hard work you have put in trying to help the Le Moyne students. On behalf of the HC Le Moyne staff, we wish you nothing but the best in your future!