After weeks of uncertainty regarding Oswego State’s next Student Association president, current Vice President Edward Kelly announced April 17 that Takeena Strachan, director of civic engagement and legislative affairs, will be sworn in as president in May.

“I’m really confident that it’s going to be a good upcoming year,” Strachan said. “I’m really excited to ensure there’s progress being made on campus overall.”

Kelly emailed the student body the results of the presidential election investigation by the SA Supreme Court. Following a grievance filed against the presidential election for campaign violations, the court did not validate the results of who won the election. The original results of the election have still not been released to the student body.

“Due to this investigation, the results were unable to be validated until the investigation had been concluded,” Kelly said in the email. “The investigation has now concluded, and as a result, both candidates [Baldwin Lawson and Omar van Reenen] have rescinded their candidacy for president.”

According to Chief Justice Brian Monahan, there will be no more steps in the investigation of the grievance that was filed.

“There was no grievance hearing,” Monahan said. “The Supreme Court and all parties involved had pre-hearing meetings.”

Current President Omar van Reenen announced earlier in the month that he stepped down from running for president when the grievance against the presidential election was filed. Lawson refused to comment.

“I believe the court carried out the process fairly and investigated their appeals with the candidates involved thoroughly,” van Reenen said. “I believe it’s not the turnout the students wanted nor the mission of my campaign, yet I will remain steadfastly committed to completing both the promises of my 2018 and 2019 campaigns – to ensure we push our campus forward.”

van Reenen will continue the rest of his term and carry out the remainder of goals on his Laker Justice Agenda. 

These include extending library hours, providing free Centro services for the summer and winter, removing plastic cups, installing menstrual products, expanding gender-neutral bathrooms and signage, better Blue-route services, food waste recovery for meal provision for off-campus students, codifying the Equal Pay For Equal Play movement into SA law, flying solidarity flags, a new SA website and developing an SA financial and departmental strategic plan.

“I truly hope SA continues to build off the platform of standing up for not just diversity on our campus, but inclusivity of Lakers from all backgrounds,” van Reenen said.

Strachan ran unopposed for vice president and, due to SA’s bylaws, was next in the line of succession. She said she has a few people in mind to choose to be vice president and will make a decision in time for the next wave of SA leaders to take over their new positions. Strachan said she is looking for someone who is understanding of all student opinions and can represent those opinions even if it does not match their own.

“I am more than overjoyed and ecstatic that Director Strachan will become madam president and the first black woman president of SUNY Oswego SA,” van Reenen said. “Director Strachan has worked hard with her fellow Cabinet members to fulfill our ‘Laker Justice Agenda’ and push for an inclusive campus that advocate for issues at the heart of our Lakers.” 

Since learning she would be president rather than vice president, Strachan has revised her list of goals to accomplish in SA next year. She said she has begun formulating an agenda of issues to focus on. 

Among these goals, Strachan said she wants to keep their athletics liaison, add a Greek life liaison, extend voter registration to understanding the process more, have student organization evaluations, review the Centro transportation contract, expand GET Food options and revamp SA social media pages.

An issue SA faced this year was its low number of senators in comparison to years past. In order to meet quorum and begin a meeting, it is necessary for 12 senators to be in attendance, and there have been occasions this year when SA could not meet because there were not enough senators. To combat this issue, Strachan said she will review how SA is advertised to students.

“A lot of students join really because they want to be the voice of students,” Strachan said. “Let’s start meeting with more clubs, more hall councils, because how I joined Student Association was through my hall council to be a liaison for that.”

She said she also wants to reach out to transfer students, commuters, off-campus and non-traditional students. 

“It’s difficult for us to say we represent all these students when we are really only using a handful of students on campus,” Strachan said.

Photo provided by Takeena Strachan