A new president and vice president will be elected for Student Association at Oswego State for the next academic year; who will the students vote for?
Before voting is opened to students April 17 on Laker Life, debates were held March 29 and April 5 between candidates for both vice president and president. This gave students the chance to get to know the candidates and what they stand for. If students missed these debates, they can get some information on the candidates here.

Presidential Candidates:

Andre Nichols

Nichols is a junior and has been a member of Student Association since last spring semester. He currently serves on all three committees in SA, is the chair of the Safety, Health, Advocacy, Rights and Environmental Issues subcommittee and is attorney general, in which he takes pride. He said he believes his experience has set a precedent of being the liaison between SA and college administration. Additionally, he sits on other campus committees and is vice president of the Auxiliary Services Board of Directors.
If elected as president, Nichols plans to invoke reformation within SA.
“A major one would be our finance department.” Nichols said. “This organization has long suffered from poor leadership, lack of transparency and no sense of law and order. I believe that negatively affects our students and our clubs and also drastically damages Student Association’s image.”
He also intends to begin a conversation on campus of what students believe it means to be a Laker and to get them to understand that the student body has a voice that can make changes on campus. Should he not be elected as president, he said he pledges to continue advocating for the students on this campus.
“I believe that showing leadership is about showing up and representing,” Nichols said. “Students depend on those advocates to show up and represent when they cannot, and that is what I want to be as SA President.”

Omar van Reenen

Van Reenen is a sophomore and, if elected, will become Oswego State’s first international student to become Student Association president. Since he began his involvement in SA last year as a freshman, he has been Hart Hall senator. He is currently director of diversity, equity and inclusion and is SUNY SA University College representative for five SUNY state-operated campuses.
If voted to be president, van Reenen said his most important goal he intends to work toward is to push for an inclusive SA that advocates for equal opportunities for students to thrive, become empowered and never be left behind.
“I hope to affect the campus by inspiring students to believe that the vision we share of campus where no student organization gets left behind is worth the fight,” van Reenen said. “All of the challenges we face, we will overcome collectively; there is always a seat for every student at our table to empower their voice.”
During his time at SA, van Reenen has worked to establish a Black Solidarity Day, eliminate non-sustainable plastic cups from the dining halls and bring attention to the large funding gap between men’s and women’s sports clubs.
“As a student leader, it is imperative to place service before self and inclusively advocate for issues at the heart of our fellow Lakers,” van Reenen said. “This is done through involving as many student voices as you can on issues that seek to uplift our campus community.”

Vice Presidential Candidates:

Edward Kelly

Kelly is a sophomore who has been an at-large senator at Student Association since the fall 2016 semester. He currently sits as vice chair of the Rules and Judiciary committee. He is also vice president of Impromptu a capella club, of which he helped to create, a Seneca Hall resident assistant and a member of the student conduct committee.
If chosen as vice president, Kelly plans to bridge the communication gap between SA and the ALANA organizations. To help in connecting the two, he would rent out areas to provide a space for ALANA e-board members and SA members to form a closer bond.
“The ALANA [organizations] are among the most important clubs on campus,” Kelly said. “They provide students with a place to enrich and embrace their culture along with educating students on cultures that they might not be that familiar with.”
Additionally, Kelly would ensure that underrepresented students, such as transfers, veterans and non-traditional students, become senators to have their voices be heard, that there is better advertisement for town hall meetings with Oswego State President Deborah Stanley and that students have an easier time voicing their opinions and needs by introducing an online petition system.
“[Being involved on campus] has helped me empower others to stand up for what they believe in and has allowed me to develop the skills that I need in order to be an effective leader on campus, something I wish to further by representing the students as their vice president,” Kelly said.

Catherine Millington

Millington is a freshman and began her involvement in SA in the fall semester. She is Funnelle Hall senator and currently sits on all three SA committees, of which she is vice chair of Involvement Committee. She also sits on the Sustainability Committee and Conference Planning Conference Committee for SUNY Student Assembly, which has given her experience in organizing large events, choosing workshops and elections.
If elected as vice president, Millington’s most important goal would be to bridge the gap between Student Association and Greek Life, and work to have the fraternities and sororities officially SA recognized.
“Greek Life does so much for our campus, and the Student Association does not recognize them as organizations on our campus even though they have to biggest community service contribution on this campus,” Millington said.
Additionally, she would push to recruit more senators to SA to broaden the variety of voices represented by the student government. If she is not elected, she said she will still do her best to influence others to join the senate.
“I am only a freshman, but I truly feel that the way I am pursuing my role in the Student Association, as a senator, I am advocating for the student’s voices and making sure their voices are being heard by writing resolutions to try to change the issues and/or concerns they are seeing on campus,” Millington said.