Lexi Schnaser—Staff Writer

The results from the 2021-22 Dordt University Student Government elections are in. For several years, the student body has elected classmates from their respective majors and residence halls to represent them on campus. 

Dan Moe, student body president, has seen key changes in the annual election cycle over his four years with Student Government.

“It used to be a bit of a challenge to get people to run for Student Government, and I recall several seats being left empty all year,” Moe said.

For this year’s election, the positions for natural sciences, humanities, and underclassmen residence halls were contested.

“The elevated interest is really exciting to me because it shows we are continuing to gain new voices in our group each year that challenge and improve our group and the whole campus community,” Moe said.

In previous years, students voted through Survey Monkey or Dordt’s campus life website. This time around, Canvas provided the polling platform. The website provided a more user-friendly and secure method. Student Government looks to utilize the website to a greater extent in the future.

“A Student Government Canvas page could be a useful place to centralize all our information and services for students, such as Student Senator information, student feedback, and club information,” Moe said. 

Though some students are not aware of Student Government elections until a Canvas notification appears in their Outlook inbox, Moe and vice president Trey Engen are busy with election preparation the moment they arrive on campus. They meet with Dean of Students Robert Taylor about the election process, send mass emails to the student body, hang posters, and post on social media. 

Anna Rediger, a junior chemistry major, was elected to the Natural Sciences Senator seat. The position represents nearly 400 students across agriculture, biology, chemistry, environmental science, math, physics, statistics, and computer science majors.

“I had no idea what Student Government did or why they were important,” Rediger said. “I understand them as being the intermediate between higher up administrators and students. I thought it’d be really interesting to learn more about that and see what it means to be a part of [Student Government].”

Student Government serves campus in a variety of ways, particularly through supporting clubs.

“Clubs are a great avenue to connect with students and pursue a shared passion,” Moe said. “Club leadership is a great way to put your leadership skills to use, make connections with students and faculty, and fill a need in the community.” 

Students can also contact Student Government with questions, concerns, or ideas by talking to a senator or using an anonymous feedback form on Student Government’s Canvas page. Or, they can attend the government’s Fireside Chats with Robert Taylor. 

These discussions allow students to “voice their concerns directly and hear about ongoing campus initiatives,” Moe said. 

Though some seats were contested for the 2021-22 election, the pro-tech and social sciences seats were without candidates. In these situations, the president and vice president may appoint qualifying students to fill the vacancies. The seats for Dordt Student Activities, international students, and student ministries have been appointed. 

At the time of this writing, the Pro-Tech and Social Science seats have not been filled. 

The 2021-22 Dordt University Student Government

Executive Cabinet:

•Daniel Moe: President

•Trey Engen: Vice President

•Kendal Zylstra: Treasurer

•Zoe Hoekstra: Communications Director

Student Senate:

•Bryce Enger: Education Senator

•Bennett Marstall: Engineering Senator

•Hannah Vanderhooft: Humanities Senator

•Anna Rediger: Natural Science   Senator

•Emily Zylstra: Nursing Senator

•Sara DeYoung: Covenant Hall Senator

•John Copley: East Hall Senator

•Alex Brown: North Hall Senator

•Meggie Mwakyusa: West Hall Senator

•Lexi Schnaser: Dordt Student Activities  Senator

• Anna De Oliveira: International Student   Activities Senator

•Kira Waite: Student Ministries Senator

•Dante VanBeek: At-Large Senator

•Sara Hofer: At-Large Senator