\u201cBeing a student in a leadership position is showing that you can do a lot more things besides playing sports,” Washington says. \u201cWhether you\u2019re in theater, or an athlete, or in Greek life or whatever, you shouldn\u2019t be stuck in one box and confined.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Imagine what I could do\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\nMarie, who created her own interdisciplinary major studying advocacy and justice and is spending the summer studying gentrification in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, started her community involvement early. Her high school activism led her to sit on a panel with Michael Jennings, Furman\u2019s chief diversity officer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cMichael was like, \u2018I like this girl,\u2019\u201d remembers Marie. \u201cSo he submitted my name for a scholarship, and I won, and it just ended up working.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Furman, Marie \u201cfelt like my voice was valued, but I was also able to represent student concerns that I felt were often not considered or acted on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The best way she could further represent those concerns, she decided, was through SGA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018Isn\u2019t it funny that the student body president has so much access, but it seems like people aren\u2019t really using that to its full potential,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201c\u2018Imagine what I could do if I had the access and the intentional relationships with the community and administration.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A hurdle, a petition and a victory<\/strong><\/h3>\nBefore she could enter the race, however, Marie had a hurdle to clear: SGA’s constitution said that the student body president had to have previous student government experience\u00a0 \u2013 which she didn\u2019t have. (Neither did Washington, who faced no such obstacle in his vice-presidential candidacy.) Her petition to amend the constitution got about 300 signatures, enough to trigger a campuswide referendum<\/a> on Feb. 10, which passed with a significant majority.<\/p>\nThe victory \u201cmeant that more students can think of themselves as qualified to serve in these positions,\u201d Marie says. \u201cIt seemed to me that a lot of students, especially students of marginalized identities, just couldn\u2019t see themselves in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding a voice, breaking barriers<\/strong><\/h3>\nWashington was similarly inspired by his campus experiences, including serving as a diversity fellow for Mosaic and participating in several panel talks. His columns on diversity matters<\/a> for The Paladin student newspaper helped him hone his voice.<\/p>\n\u201cI got a lot of traction from different types of people in the student body, not just students of color,\u201d he says. \u201cThat made me feel like my voice has the potential to carry a lot of weight, so I could try to impact change from a higher stance.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ran to break down barriers, he says \u2013 not just barriers between groups, but those that students impose upon themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to make people feel like more things were accessible,” he says. “We need to help each other; we\u2019re all on the same playing field trying to reach our goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priorities for a new administration and beyond<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u201cMichael was like, \u2018I like this girl,\u2019\u201d remembers Marie. \u201cSo he submitted my name for a scholarship, and I won, and it just ended up working.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Furman, Marie \u201cfelt like my voice was valued, but I was also able to represent student concerns that I felt were often not considered or acted on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The best way she could further represent those concerns, she decided, was through SGA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018Isn\u2019t it funny that the student body president has so much access, but it seems like people aren\u2019t really using that to its full potential,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201c\u2018Imagine what I could do if I had the access and the intentional relationships with the community and administration.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A hurdle, a petition and a victory<\/strong><\/h3>\nBefore she could enter the race, however, Marie had a hurdle to clear: SGA’s constitution said that the student body president had to have previous student government experience\u00a0 \u2013 which she didn\u2019t have. (Neither did Washington, who faced no such obstacle in his vice-presidential candidacy.) Her petition to amend the constitution got about 300 signatures, enough to trigger a campuswide referendum<\/a> on Feb. 10, which passed with a significant majority.<\/p>\nThe victory \u201cmeant that more students can think of themselves as qualified to serve in these positions,\u201d Marie says. \u201cIt seemed to me that a lot of students, especially students of marginalized identities, just couldn\u2019t see themselves in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding a voice, breaking barriers<\/strong><\/h3>\nWashington was similarly inspired by his campus experiences, including serving as a diversity fellow for Mosaic and participating in several panel talks. His columns on diversity matters<\/a> for The Paladin student newspaper helped him hone his voice.<\/p>\n\u201cI got a lot of traction from different types of people in the student body, not just students of color,\u201d he says. \u201cThat made me feel like my voice has the potential to carry a lot of weight, so I could try to impact change from a higher stance.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ran to break down barriers, he says \u2013 not just barriers between groups, but those that students impose upon themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to make people feel like more things were accessible,” he says. “We need to help each other; we\u2019re all on the same playing field trying to reach our goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priorities for a new administration and beyond<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The victory \u201cmeant that more students can think of themselves as qualified to serve in these positions,\u201d Marie says. \u201cIt seemed to me that a lot of students, especially students of marginalized identities, just couldn\u2019t see themselves in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding a voice, breaking barriers<\/strong><\/h3>\nWashington was similarly inspired by his campus experiences, including serving as a diversity fellow for Mosaic and participating in several panel talks. His columns on diversity matters<\/a> for The Paladin student newspaper helped him hone his voice.<\/p>\n\u201cI got a lot of traction from different types of people in the student body, not just students of color,\u201d he says. \u201cThat made me feel like my voice has the potential to carry a lot of weight, so I could try to impact change from a higher stance.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ran to break down barriers, he says \u2013 not just barriers between groups, but those that students impose upon themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to make people feel like more things were accessible,” he says. “We need to help each other; we\u2019re all on the same playing field trying to reach our goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priorities for a new administration and beyond<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u201cI got a lot of traction from different types of people in the student body, not just students of color,\u201d he says. \u201cThat made me feel like my voice has the potential to carry a lot of weight, so I could try to impact change from a higher stance.\u201d<\/p>\n
He ran to break down barriers, he says \u2013 not just barriers between groups, but those that students impose upon themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to make people feel like more things were accessible,” he says. “We need to help each other; we\u2019re all on the same playing field trying to reach our goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Incoming](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/around-the-lake-movein-day-2018.jpg\")