By Aidan Fish ’25
Members of Houghton University’s (HU) Student Council have become increasingly aware of the student body’s confusion regarding the organization’s role.
“The purpose of Student Council is to bridge the administration and the Student body,” stated Thomas McGlynn ‘26, the current Academic Representative and incoming Student Body President.
“They work together with Houghton’s Board of Trustees, staff, faculty, administrators, alumni, and friends of the University to create a Christian higher-education environment that reflects Houghton’s institutional mission,” he said.
McGlynn discussed how, in order to connect with students, the Student Council makes themselves available through services on campus such as Donut Mondays. These services give the student body an opportunity to discuss concerns or suggestions with council members.
Jana Newberry, among many of her campus roles, serves as a facilitator of the Student Council. She gave insight into how the council works with the HU’s administration.
Newberry said that each Student Council member sits as the student representative on at least one committee of staff and faculty. These committees include the Academic council, Diversity committee, Senior Class committee and more. Each member also meets with the representative of an area (Athletics, Residence Life, Spiritual Life, etc.) on a monthly basis. During this time, they can ask questions or bring up concerns directly with the VP or Director of that area.
Senior Lilian Turner, the current Student Body President, talked about ways in which the council has been active this year. She expressed that although they are not like the Campus Activity Board (CAB) who plans campus events, they are still active in the community. Turner mentioned that the council put on a chocolate dipping event this year. She described the event as “a way of creating an outlet for students to meet us and talk to us on a personal level.”
The council also hosted an event during the Superbowl in the Campus Center basement, and “Cookies and Concerns” during Valentine’s Day.
Turner expressed that the council has conversations on behalf of the student body. They have engaged with Safety and Security about campus safety, and the tech team about wifi issues in Gillette and the music building.
This 2024-2025 school year, the Student Council has started sending out monthly surveys. Turner explained that the point of these surveys is to collect “tangible data” that they can then bring to the administration. The Student Council can not make claims about the number of online classes, chapel scanning, wifi issues, safety, open hours and homecoming without showing the administration data, she said.
Turner added that the Student Council provides a connection between the student body and the administration. The council “shows we can have conversations with President Lewis and administration,” she said.
While giving praise to the work Turner has done this year, McGlynn looks forward to building upon her accomplishments.
“For [the] next [school] year, we want to improve the connection amongst student leadership groups, including CAB, Clubs, Emmanuel Scholars, Highlander, RDs and RAs, Student Council, Transitions, and more. The emphasis will be on hearing the concerns of the growing Houghton student population,” he said.
Although the Student Council is not perfect and a lot of their work is done behind the scenes, the hope is that they can earn the student body’s trust. ★
