Oswego State will choose between two candidates to select who will be the president of Student Association for the 2019-2020 school year.

Omar van Reenen, the current president of SA, is running for reelection in hopes of continuing the work he has started. van Reenen has held a variety of positions in the Student Association at Oswego State, including senator, director and now his current position as president.

van Reenen is running opposed by junior finance and human resource major Baldwin Lawson.

Lawson has been a senator for two years, assisted in writing bills and held his current position as finance chair for SA. Lawson said he was drawn to join SA when he saw the need for change in African, Latino, Asian and Native American (ALANA) organizations on campus.

“I realized that, for my community [the ALANA community], we needed a lot more funding and needed people to speak for us on different platforms,” Lawson said. “SA was something that was recommended to me by my current mentor, Aloaye Tisor, who was formally the SA president when I was a freshman.”

While Lawson was originally drawn to SA for how he could advocate for and enact change for the groups he was involved in, he has noticed there are other groups with the same needs.

“I joined for the purpose of advocating for my own group, but then I realized there are other groups who need advocating for too,” Lawson said. “I realized that there was a need for empowerment in facets of all kinds of organizations. … That’s the reason I was able to step into this position and grow and want to be where I am now, which is running for SA president.” 

Lawson and van Reenen both share a campaign that is built around the inclusion and involvement of all students on the Oswego State campus.

“Everything I have done on this campus is for and by the students,” van Reenen said. “Any resolution I have put forward has always included a club or organization, included student input.”

While Lawson’s campaign is largely based off the desire to advocate for the underrepresented and marginalized groups on campus, he is also aiming for advancements in campus safety, support for ALANA organizations and transparency within SA and the student body. 

In terms of campus safety, Lawson is specifically pushing for more security measures to make students feel they and their possessions are safe.

“I am pushing for more surveillance cameras to be installed in academic buildings, such as the library,” Lawson said. “Every time we have a month like Black History Month, our posters will get vandalized or snatched off the walls, and also last semester, there was a big issue with laptops being taken off the round tables in the library. … That is not OK because this is an open campus. We want to safely go around and walk in these buildings and spaces knowing that we are safe and that our stuff is safe.”

Lawson said he feels as though, through his involvement with ALANA, he has grown into an individual that is understanding of the diverse Oswego State community and can enact positive change for all if given the opportunity.

“ALANA is who shaped me to be who I am today,” Lawson said. “It grew me as a person, as a student leader, as a business professional, as a student professional as well, so it is only right that I give back to the community that gave to me. I want people to know that I am an advocator for the rights, an advocator for communities who do not feel as though they are heard enough.”

While Lawson was motivated by his support and inclusion in the ALANA community, van Reenen uses his home country of Namibia, Africa, for his motivation and values.

“When I came to SUNY Oswego, I really wanted to find a platform that I could use to give back to my community, to do the most good to as many people as I can for as long as I can, in all the ways I can,” van Reenen said. “I think those are the values and principles I hold, coming from Namibia, Africa, people never got a fair shot at [equality and social justice.] Growing up, I was raised with the notion of trying to make sure the people around you have a fair shot at equality and equal opportunity to thrive.”

Lawson shared the campaign statement he created, which outlines what he would stand and strive for if elected as the 2019-2020 Oswego State SA president. With his final thought of wanting students to take away the call for open communication and acceptance, he hopes to extend the message across the Oswego State campus.

“If elected, I will continue to fight and advocate for justice, transparency, inclusion and equality among the student body,” Lawson said. “I will create a channel between myself and the students of this campus so that we can work together and ensure that every voice is heard, every issue, group, demographic and identity recognized.”

Lawson spoke of wanting students to feel as though their opinions and concerns matter and are valued and that his campaign would be one built upon trust and communication.

“Count on me. Share your thoughts, ideas and visions, and I will make them happen,” Lawson said. “Your vote will not be taken for granted.”

van Reenen has been a part of SA since he was a freshman and has been determined to use each position to enact as much positive change as he can.

“I joined as a senator, and that was my first step on this campus. I really took that position and ran with it,” van Reenen said. “I started writing legislation that either funded clubs or advocated for policy changes on campus.”

van Reenen’s major take-away for his campaign is the work that he has accomplished in the 2018-2019 year and the continuation of that work he plans to do if reelected. 

“I have written more than 50 legislations,” van Reenen said. “Of which, about 75 percent of them are resolutions that call for policy changes, that call for action, that call for a mandate in some sort of way to uplift student voices.”

van Reenen said he is proud of the work he has done thus far and how far Oswego State as a whole has come, toward being a model community.

“The measure of any city is how it treats its women and girls and how it treats its marginalized citizens and how it treats its environment and how it treats its diverse populations,” van Reenen said. “And I think that we have shown that the measure of our society is one that can be used about what other SUNY campuses should strive for.”

How SA has adapted is something that van Reenen said he is very proud of and something that he hopes to continue to expand upon.

“I want students to see that SA moved away from just being a bank for organizations,” van Reenen said. “While funding student organizations is the most imperative integral part of our Student Association, we made sure that we use this profound platform that was given to us by the students to move away from just being a bank to advocating, listening and empowering student voices.”

van Reenen wanted to express his belief that, in the continual improvement of the campus and the community, it is the change that is what is most important and not who is in power.

“I never needed any title or any high-ranking position to do this work. This is the work I have been doing since my first day on this campus,” van Reenen said. “I always want to make sure that student voices are at the epicenter of everything I fight for.”

The campaign that van Reenen said he hopes to continue is one of inclusivity and an enthusiastic approach to tackle a wide variety of issues.

 “I want all students to know that my platform ranges from diversity and inclusion to sustainability to patroning services for business,” van Reenen said.  “It is an all-encompassing agenda that I have proven in my time as president. … I want to give all Lakers the opportunity to thrive.” 

Also on the ballot will be senator Takeena Strachan running unopposed for vice president.

Graphic by Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian