Student Government passed Senate Resolution SR 5 on Sep. 3 to approve the charge and membership of the Executive Advisory Committee on the 2024 Elections.
The resolution was passed in order to approve the committee’s membership list and goals in alignment with the committee charge. The resolution cites voter involvement as a key principle of Wake Forest’s pro humanitate efforts. The committee will be responsible for promoting election involvement across campus and collaborating with various campus organizations to promote civic engagement.
“The 2024 elections are a really important time for our campus to be civically active and act on Wake Forest’s driving spirit, pro humanitate,” Student Body President Hannah Elluru said. “We are looking forward to collaborating with university offices and departments to expand the resources available to students to engage in conversations about the elections and exercise their right to vote.”
The resolution was introduced by former Student Body President Jackson Buttler, and was supported by Elluru. Student government resolutions are non-binding: when passed, administrators must follow the recommendations if resolutions are to have their intended effect.
According to committee co-chairs Gray Lowder and Ava Jochim, the main goals of the committee are to promote nonpartisanship, support voter registration efforts on campus and collaborate with other organizations on campus to share information about the election.
In addition to Lowder and Jochim, there will be 17 members of the committee, including Molly Linker, Ethan Rummage, Victoria Burnette, Yan Luo, Zali Lawrence, Lucy Loflin, Caroline Moritz, Piper Genkin, Jaden Morrison, Jessica Barry, Maddox Braue, Quincie Loy, Malcolm Brown, Lauren Schmidt, Grace Clark, Abby Kee and Kaitlyn Bernas. Applications for the committee were open to the entire student body, and members were selected in and outside of student government.
Lowder said he hopes the committee will help unify campus during an overwhelming election season.
“A big part of our platform is inclusion and making sure every student has their voice heard, and that includes elections,” Lowder said.
Jochim explained that her experience growing up in London gave her perspective on the importance of having discussions to be better informed about candidates. Having lived through a divisive election while in the United Kingdom showed her the importance of unity during times of change.
“We want to focus on having respectful conversations and looking at facts instead of hiding behind party lines,” Jochim said. “It’s important to be informed on who we’re voting for and why we’re not voting for other candidates, and to have discussions about those things.”
Jochim said that the committee wants to support students, many of whom are first-time voters in such a major election.
“We want to instill the habit of voting, and want to ensure active and interested voters for the future,” Jochim said, “because it is our future in which we are shaping, and those habits do start now. We want to reinforce the importance of voting and the importance of voting what you want versus what everyone else [wants].”