Those who are currently serving as sophomore delegates for the Campus Union 2023-2024 assembly include Wilton Grice ’26, Eloise Hupfer ’26, Geneva Kowbeidu ’26, Caroline Parker ’26, Zion Sampson ’26 and Camille Terracina ’26.
However, the Class of 2026 will soon have to rethink their choice of delegates, as all of those who are currently serving in the sophomore delegate position will either transition to an executive position or be abroad for the Fall 2024 semester, disqualifying them from running for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Kowbeidu, 2024-2025 secretary, will join Marga Van Der Linde ’25, 2024-2025 president; Simrin Channa ’25, 2024-2025 vice president and Jules Brooks ’25, 2024-2025 treasurer, as executive officers.
“I will miss all of the sophomore delegates who are going abroad because we have all been together since freshman year, but I know great things are to come,” said Kowbeidu. “I hope for this next assembly that there will be six new delegates who are truly passionate about the cause.”
“I think this is a great time in Campus Union history, and I would love to see an assembly that reflects that. I’m excited to see our new junior delegates.”
Each year, class delegates serve as the liaison between their class, Campus Union and the Wofford administration, creating different proposals that will benefit their class directly.
Parker, a psychology and Spanish double major, will travel to Seville, Spain, for the Fall 2024 semester. However, she has been keeping up with the recent executive election and is looking forward to the class delegate elections as well.
She has been involved with Campus Union as both a freshman and sophomore delegate, working closely with several members of the current Campus Union cabinet.
“It was a hard election because I love both candidates (who ran for president),” said Parker. “I think (Van Der Linde) is great, and I think the proposals she has written are so good.”
Parker says that the previous two presidents have both fulfilled the promises they ran on, and she has no doubt that the current president will as well, no matter who the junior delegates end up being.
Thomas Cuttino ’23 ran on getting a new mental health counselor in Wofford’s wellness center, and he did. Additionally, Graydon Davies ’23 was able to start the annual Senior Legacy Celebration and rewrite the bylaws to include training and have more inclusive language.
Van Der Linde is currently running on the goals of building a new student gym and eliminating the physical education requirement from the general education requirements for athletes.
Hupfer, a government and Spanish double major, will be found in Barcelona, Spain, for the Fall 2024 semester.
Just like Parker, she has been involved with Campus Union as both a freshman and sophomore delegate and has proposed many bills during her time in these positions, including getting shower hooks for Marsh Residence Hall and rocking chairs on the porch of Greene Residence Hall.
“What we try to do is pass proposals that would not only affect the entire student body but directly impact our student class,” Hupfer said. “We proposed even simple things that made a big difference, by listening to the concerns of other students.”
Hupfer has faith that the next cohort of class delegates for the Class of 2026 will be just as beneficial to the student body.
However, not everyone shares this same positive sentiment. An anonymous source, who currently serves in a Campus Union position, fears that the Class of 2026 may not be able to gather enough qualified candidates for the positions they need to fill.
“I’m worried that, if people didn’t do it freshman and sophomore year, are they really going to even want to do it junior year? And if they do it, is it just for the resumé building,” the source questions.
They suggest a possible solution would be to inquire with those who have declared a government major, as student government would likely align with their interests, but that may raise the same concern of people doing it just for the resumé building.
“I get it, I do, but there’s no training on Campus Union,” said the source. “My first semester, I was sworn in and didn’t really know what to do at first. But I quickly learned that all you have to do is write two proposals a year, but people aren’t doing them.”
“Only two freshmen delegates have written proposals, and the other four (were) panicking and having to write them (the week before Spring Break). People (were) letting them just randomly put their name on these proposals.”
Additionally, the source believes that there is the potential for conflict amongst the newly elected executive officers, regardless of what happens with the upcoming class delegate elections.
“If (Dalton Perry ’25) had won, that would have been his thing,” said the source. “I just wonder if (Van Der Linde) has the time to commit to it, and I worry because the executive council is all members of Zeta Tau Alpha and then (Van Der Linde.)”
“It’s not really reaching a lot of people, and I feel like that will discourage people,” the source said.
However, the source said that the election makes sense being the way that it is.
“I’m happy that it’s a female president; I think that’s really cool. Channa was the only one who would have been vice president. The treasurer has never been on Campus Union before, but nobody else would want to do that position. And then secretary isn’t really that big of a job.”
The source also disclosed that many people who are currently serving on Campus Union will not be running for reelection, stating that this year’s involvement has felt like a “waste of time.”
Though the elections for those in executive positions has since passed, the class delegate elections will take place April 23-24. Ballots will be sent to the members of each respective class to vote.
