As the new student officers of the Associated Students of Seattle Pacific prepare for the 2021-2022 school year, they are also in the process of setting goals for their terms.

New ASSP President elect Laur Lugos is excited to use her experience as Vice President of Intercultural Affairs to lead ASSP as a team toward making the SPU community a safe and inclusive space for all students.

“I do think that my experience as Vice President of Intercultural Affairs gave me a good enough starting point; I feel like I’m not going in just jogging,” said Lugos. “I feel like I understand how the system works now, and how we can work together as a team to get things done.”

One goal that Lugos hopes to accomplish next year as President is the implementation of free and unlimited counseling for all student leaders on-campus.

“We recognize that when student leaders are taken care of, then they’re best able to attend to their communities, and mental health resources are a huge part of that,” said Lugos.

Another goal she hopes to achieve is the incorporation of more diversity and inclusivity into SPU’s required University Foundations courses.

“We’re going to try and create a proposal that would require that 50% of UFDN curriculum materials be sourced by either black, indigenous, or other people of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community, and/ or people who experience disability in any capacity,” said Lugos.

Executive Vice President elect, Ciarra Choe, believes that students’ voices should be heard, and she hopes to use her own cultural background to amplify the voices of POC on campus. 

She also expressed a desire to increase awareness of senate and the ways that students can get involved, through restructuring and changing procedures.

“I think it’s really important that we be productive, but are also able to be open, and maybe informal, especially with students who aren’t familiar with formality and structure but would still like to come to senate and voice any concern,” said Choe. “No one should be ashamed of not knowing how those things work.”

Choe hopes that with the possibility of things opening up more next fall, there will be an increase in community and events that bring the student body together.

“I see this as, hopefully, an opportunity to reset SPU, and moving forward, creating more of a sense of community and resources that make SPU better,” Choe said.

Chloe Guillot, Vice President of Ministries elect also hopes to create a better sense of community on-campus by enforcing acceptance and inclusivity through racial diversity.

“My biggest driver is always to empower students who don’t typically feel like their voices are being heard,” said Guillot. “Especially at a university like SPU that is predominately white and evangelical, it can often end up feeling like it’s just one perspective, which is why it’s really important for me to amplify other voices and perspectives.”

Guillot also emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong sense of community throughout SPU.

“There are ways that UMIN tries to focus not just spiritual fulfillment, but also physical needs and community,” said Guillot. “Our ministries serve students of all faith backgrounds. There is something for everybody, you just need to keep your eye out. We definitely want to work on communication all throughout SPU and make sure that people are aware of that.”

School of Health Sciences Senator elect, Julia Chen, hopes to bridge the gap between the busy health sciences students and the on-campus community.

“The nursing department is really separated from the main campus,” said Chen. “Nursing is really hard, and we don’t really get a social life. So, what I really hope to accomplish is to bring the nursing students back to campus to be more involved in all the campus activities.”

School of Science and Engineering senator elect Carrie Cox hopes to use her position on senate to represent LGBTQ+ students on-campus as well.

“The drive to push change in terms of SPU’s statement on human sexuality and its following policies has been very near and dear,” said Cox.

Cox served as a member of the Honors Senate this year, and has been active in the discussion involving changes for the LGBTQ+ community here on campus, as well as the drafting of the student letter on human sexuality.

“I’m trying to think of more creative ways to best support our LGBTQ+ students here on campus,” said Cox, who emphasized the importance of initiative and a drive for change. “I think it’s going to be cool to see the senate take on more of like an advocacy group role, as well as it being here to cultivate the culture.”

Cox also spoke about the importance of Senate being in and with the community, with an effort to lead by example.

“It is cool to be with a group of people who dedicate so much of their time to supporting the community,” said Cox. “That’s not to say that everyone is going to agree with you on every single policy, but at least you have this in common: that you all love SPU and want to see it flourish.”