Feel like someone’s eyes are on you at all times? That’s probably because Brooke Kenworthy’s eager, smiling face is all around campus, whether it’s in the form of buttons on backpacks or her physically handing out flyers in the Busch Student Center.
You guessed it: it’s finally the Student Government Association (SGA) election season for the 2023-24 school year and exciting things are happening here at Saint Louis University! I was honored with the opportunity to sit down with one of the two candidates running for SGA President, Brooke Kenworthy, and was able to pick her brain on some of her passions and goals if she were to win SGA President.
Let’s find out just why Brooke Kenworthy is worthy of your vote this election season!
Olivia Cherry, Vice President of Marketing of HerCampus at SLU (HC): To start off, tell me a little bit about yourself!
Brooke Kenworthy (BK): I’m a junior studying Civil Engineering with a minor in Studio Art. I’m from Memphis, Tennessee, I use she/her pronouns and I have decided to run for SGA President!
HC: Why did you decide to run for SGA President? What was your driving cause?
BK: I’ve been involved with SGA since my freshman year in a capacity of positions. Starting my freshman year, for two years, I was a senator for Parks College, which at the time was the name of our Engineering Program. It was really cool to be a female identifying student representing a predominantly male centric major. I was also able to sit on various committees throughout the two years I was a senator, including ASAP, which is our Sexual Assault Prevention Committee and our Commincations Committee. This year, as a junior, I am currently serving as the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Throughout this position, I have been able to take the concerns students bring to me and discuss them with Mike Lewis, our current Provost. I’ve been involved with SGA from the beginning of my career at SLU and I knew from the start that this was the direction I wanted to head in. For as long as I’ve been on SGA, I’ve been able to see a lot of cool stuff happening and I want to ensure that these things continue to develop in a productive way.
HC: That’s all so cool, especially what you said about being a female identifying student representing a predominantly male major. Going off of that, what are you most passionate about as a leader?
BK: I said this in my endorsement statement and I really stand by it: I understand that my identities don’t cover every part of the student body and frankly, no one’s identities can cover the entire student body population. Because of that it’s important to not only strive to show up for people in everything that I do, but also strive to be an active, dedicated listener. I am hyper aware that I come from a higher epsilon of privilege when it comes to the students on campus because you know, I’m a white, cis, straight identifying woman, but I’m passionate about being self-aware of this and making it my goal as a leader to be an active listener in life but especially on a college campus. I want to best represent all pockets of students at our university, not by speaking for them but by trying to understand what their issues might be and by trying to put them in a position where they can speak on what they’re passionate about. That’s what I’m most passionate about for this position.
HC: What is something you would like to accomplish if you were to win SGA President?
BK: There are a few things that are really exciting that are going on in SGA right now! In my position, I know a big thing that I’ve been talking to Mike Lewis about is getting trigger warnings into the course catalog. I’m actively working on making trigger warnings embedded in the course catalog so that students can know well before they sign up for a course if there might be content that could be potentially triggering for them. This issue is something that I’m actively working towards and plan on continuing to work towards if I were to win SGA president.
Another big thing that is happening in SGA right now is that we just approved a task force for gender inclusive housing, which is a huge deal and something that a lot of universities are instituting on their campus. I plan on continuing this initiative and actually forming the gender inclusive housing task force, which is exciting because this is something that is clearly so important!
Along with that, we have a major accessibility issue on campus, even when it comes to automatic doors, elevators that work and things like that. I’ve been in conversation with our current senator for accessibility and disability services about how our campus can improve when it comes to helping those with chronic pain or even just better accessibility when entering into buildings. It’s even important that in the syllabi teachers address attendance policies when it comes to a student who has chronic pain or disabilities. These students make up a significant amount of the student body, so this is a huge thing and is definitely something that needs to be addressed.
HC: What is a problem you’ve seen on campus that you would like to fix? I feel like you’ve done a great job of explaining a few problems, but is there anything else in particular you’re actively trying to improve on campus?
BK: There are definitely more for sure! I’ve been in conversation with Rainbow Alliance recently about trying to make sure their program is best departmentally supported. I’m making an effort to meet with them in a week or so to chat with them about things that are on the forefront of their mind because clearly we have a lot of LGBTQIA+ identifying students. Making sure that these students are getting the support that they need is super important to me.
HC: Okay, and finally, time for a fun question! Who is someone you look up to as a leader and why? It can literally be anyone.
BK: I think we have a lot of really outstanding leaders on this campus! I mean I have to shout out our two advisors: Jackie Webber, who is incredible, and Dr. Lydia Bullock, who was our co-advisor for many years and has since shifted departments. They both have been incredible leaders in my life, and having them as a sound board and being able to come to them with ideas of questions has been amazing. So, yeah, I think those two are the biggest leaders to me on campus.
HC: I absolutely love the on campus representation, but I also want you to pick a famous person.
BK: I was really impressed with the way [Supreme Court] Justice [Ketanji] Brown Jackson, who was sworn in during the last year, handled that situation. She is someone who faced a ridiculous amount of adversity just to be in the room. Even now that she’s seated, I love how she handles situations that are happening and I think her manner of communicating with people who don’t agree with her and dealing with adversity in such a high, graceful way is unbelievably impressive.
Make sure to do your part and vote on March first and second via SLUGroups. Voting is an opportunity to have a say on who represents you as a Saint Louis University student. SGA can be a direct contact between your concerns as a student and the administration. The future of SLU’s SGA is in the hands of the student body!