Editor’s Note: Candidates Cliford Fumbui, Christabel Akhigbe and Carla Thigpen responded to interview questions over email.

Meet the USG candidates: senators

Undergraduate Student Government elections for the 2022-2023 academic year opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 22 on the USG election website and closes at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 23. There are no candidates running for senatorial seats for the College of Arts, the College of Nursing and the College of Education, Health and Human Services. The positions will be filled by voters writing-in students they want to see in those positions.

Mary Jewell

Mary Jewell is a molecular biology major and candidate for senator of the College of Arts and Sciences. She currently serves as the vice-chair for the USG Allocations committee, which gives money to students and student organizations to travel to conferences or host events on campus.

Q: What would your duties be in this position?

A: There’s a College of Arts and Sciences Committee, so I would lead that committee. I would also be having meetings with administration in the College of Arts and Sciences and host events for students in the college. Kind of just build up that community.

Q: What would you change if you were elected?

A: A lot of students don’t know that these committees are happening, so [I’d seek] more advertising for those positions. Also, there’s not a great go-between for what events are happening on certain dates, so I’d want to be more involved with social media advertising too. Mostly, just trying to represent all areas of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Q: What’s one thing voters should know about you?

A: I’m really hard-working and committed to making sure that all college students have the best experience. I’m committed to building community and making sure all students have a place on campus and within our college.

Sprout Dickerson

Sprout Dickerson is a freshman visual communication design major and candidate for senator for the College of Communication and Information.

Q: What would your duties be in this position?

A: I would really just focus on fostering connections between faculty and students. Which could look like putting on events [and] improving the facilities that we already have.

Q: What would you change if you were elected?

A: A big part of my platform is involvement. I feel like the College of Communication [and Information] right now has a lot of alumni events and brings in these really incredible alumni that have some crazy experiences, and a lot of students aren’t aware of these events. So, I feel like improving involvement with those events is definitely something I would take a look at changing.

Q: What is one thing voters should know about you?

A: I’m nonbinary, so I use they/them pronouns. This is a huge aspect of my individual personality. I feel like representation in leadership is really important, and I’ve been in rooms before where I feel othered or I feel somehow different than everyone else there. I feel like someone in a leadership position that has had those experiences can make it feel a lot more relatable for everybody else.

Cade McCue

Cade McCue is a freshman architecture major and candidate for senator for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Q: What would your duties be in this position?

A: The biggest thing we talked about working on was a living-learning community for the College of Architecture. I believe all but the College of Architecture [and Environmental Design] and the College of Nursing have living-learning communities. Next year that will be the biggest priority.

Q: What is one thing you would change if you were elected?

A: One thing that would be good to see would be the supply list. Architecture and interior design are both surprisingly expensive majors because you have to buy model making materials [and] supplies. We end up getting a supply list that’s a little out of date, and probably a third of the stuff they bought they just didn’t get to use. That’s stuff you have to pay for out of pocket, so working with the administration to create an updated supply list that accurately reflects the different programs [would be one focus].

Q: What’s one thing voters should know about you?

A: My favorite thing is getting to meet new people [and] getting to know their stories. I’m very passionate about my career and what I’m studying. I like to hear about what makes people interested in various things. Getting to know the people around me is one of my favorite things about college.

Carla Thigpen

Carla Thigpen is a business management major who is minoring in Spanish and pre-law, and she is a candidate for senator of the College of Business Administration. She previously served on the Committee for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Q: What would your duties be in this position?

A: In this position, I would act as the bridge between Undergraduate Student Government and the College of Business, communicate with the administration in the college and listen to and address student concerns.

Q: What is your platform?

A: My platform is fostering a sense of community within the college and acting as the bridge between students and faculty/administration. I don’t want students to just know me as the senator, but as a peer and a friend, they can come to with any issues they have or want to see changed within the College of Business. I also want students to be aware of and have access to any resources they may need to be successful. It is important to me that all students feel welcome and supported.

Q: What is one thing voters should know about you?

A: When I am passionate about something I always put 110 percent and more into it. It is my goal to be the voice and advocate for the students and help everyone I can to succeed in their future endeavors. 

Christabel Akhigbe

Christabel Akhigbe is a computer science and economics major and candidate for the senator of the Honors College. 

Q: What would your duties be in this position?

A: I would be responsible for conveying the voices of my peers to the administration [and] advocating for better support and facilities for students in the Honors College.

Q: What is your platform?

A: My platform is rooted in restoring the Honors College community to being a lively foundation for interaction and learning between motivated students. I want to break the stereotype of Honors College students being lonely nerds and afford them the opportunity to have a satisfying college experience while still maintaining their academic excellence. 

Q: What is one thing voters should know about you?

A:  One fun thing about me is I almost always have a Rubik’s cube on me. I learned to solve it some years ago so I would have something interesting to say when asked for a fun fact. I think my record is like 1 minute 30 seconds now.

Cliford Fumbui

Cliford Fumbui is a computer engineering technology major and candidate for senator for the College of Aeronautics and Engineering. He currently serves on the Allocations committee where he works on the USG budget and votes to allocate funds for organization programming and conference funds.

Q: What would your duties be in this position?

A: [I would] serve as a liaison between USG and the College of Aeronautics and Engineering, and recommend USG response to all proposals for change within the College of Aeronautics and Engineering.

Q: What is your platform?

A: Tutoring. Many students in the College of Aeronautics and Engineering are in need of tutoring in most of their engineering courses, and even though it is a paid position, there are not enough tutors. My goal is to create awareness and encourage qualified students to apply and help their peers with tutoring. After consulting with the current senator of the CAE, we came to a conclusion that it will be wonderful to make the labs available for students to come in during open hours and use the labs in the college for their research and also to try out their project. Competitions are a great way to spark innovation and creativity. As senator, I will work in collaboration with the college to organize some programming events that will bring ideas to life and prepare engineering students for real-life projects beyond Kent State.

Q: What is one thing voters should know about you?

A: I am a student entrepreneur.

Anaika Summers 

Anaika Summers is running for senator for the College of Public Health. They did not return requests for comment.

Christian Danner is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].