Anna Parker and Erin Reinhart are two juniors running for Co-Presidents of the Student Government Association. Both have a passion for their role, and aim to make a difference in our Holy Cross community. Describing themselves as strong feminist, they aim to achieve an inclusive campus, that emphasizes agency, in which all students feel welcome and that they have a voice. After sitting down for an interview with both Anna and Erin, I clarified their policies and true intentions of running. The questions asked were a culmination of my own curiosity as well as questions of current students. Their Instagram is @annaerin4hc if you would like to learn more about any policies or ask any further questions.
Get to know the candidates:
Anna Parker
Major: Internal studies with a focus on latin american studies and peace and conflict resolution
Minor: Philosophy
Who even are you? “I’m from Maine, which is the best state, and I will tell anyone that! I grew up sailing in Maine, and now I am a sailing coach. Also known as Shannon’s Roommate! And I have a cat named Brady who I love”
Childhood dream job: Spy
Current job aspirations: Immigration nonprofits
Who is your biggest influence: “My sister Bridget. She is the middle of my three sisters. She has an intellectual disability, and she is the most uplifting person I know. She has defied what we thought she would be able to do by graduating college and becoming an independent individual”
What has been your favorite class at Holy Cross? “I have two: My favorite class that fell within my major was,“Refugees” with Dennis Kennedy. This class covered exactly what I want to do in life. The other course was a common area requirement.“American Literature” with Claire Jackson and it turned out to be one my favorite courses”
Leadership style: Teamwork and Fun
Erin Reinhart
Major: Political science with a concentration in peace and conflict studies
Who even are you? “I am from Wisconsin, I talk about that a lot. I wanted to go somewhere far away from home, I wanted to do something new in college which is how I got here. I have a really big extended family which has caused me to be very social. I have a red haired brother with glasses even though neither of my parents have red hair. Fun Fact: In my room I have two cardboard cutouts, the first is Harry Styles, the second is Barack Obama”
Childhood dream job: Art Teacher
Current job aspirations: Wisconsin Politics
Who is your biggest influence/inspiration and why? “My Grandma, Kamama (which means butterfly in Cherokee). She is a very spiritual and warm individual. She is accepting of all people and has shown me what it means to care for one another. She is very independent which is also a quality I admire.”
Leadership style: Listening and Collaborating
Their campaign and their plans for the future of the Holy Cross Community:
After talking to students recently on campus, many state that they do not even know who our current SGA presidents are. How do you plan on becoming more visible in the HC community?
Anna: “All of our policies involve some form of expanding communication between SGA and the rest of the community. We want to hold open houses, monthly meetings with officers, and meetings with The Office of Title IX as well as the Administration. How can students change things if they do not know who to talk to?”
Erin: “When we started in SGA, almost three years ago, we did not know who the co-presidents were. We understand how confusing SGA can be for other students. We need to start communication early such as being at orientation, to greet the first years. We also need to increase the number of things we post on social media, and we plan to start a campus wide news letter, emails, resources”
“We want to force them [the administration] to listen to the students as a whole… they can’t make decisions if they do not know what students want.”
Going off of that, many students struggle to get their voice heard if they are not in an SGA role, how do you plan on helping students have their voices heard?
Erin: “Collaboration, and Listening, ‘Action and Engagement’ we want to hear people! In the past these lines of communication haven’t been open or where they need to be. We can’t just focus on one subgroup of our population, we have to emphasize the voices of the students of color, Pride, and all groups that have not had a voice in the past. We do not want to assume what they need but want to have a space for open dialogue.”
Regardless of the results of the election, what do you hope students will learn about you through this campaign?
Anna: “We go to a great place, but there are ways to make it better for a lot of people around you. Our policies are here to uplift the people around us. We want the entire student body to be covered, not just the ‘catalog students’”
Erin: “I think that we are so lucky to go to a great school, I hope people can see what can be done. Do not stay complacent, really make the school your own.”
Why do you deserve the votes of Holy Cross students?
Anna: “We are dedicated, passionate, and have worked hard on SGA for the past three years and we will continue to. We know the landscape so we can hit the ground running. We understand what can and can’t be done so we can be efficient and get things done. Engage Summit is a big project we have been working on for a while. This project has taught us a lot about what it means to work towards a goal, and how to navigate the system.”
“We have already worked together our sophomore year, we know how to work well together, we are excited and eager to do this.”
Erin: “We are very motivated. For me SGA has been one of the cornerstones of my Holy Cross experience. We know the landscape well. There is a term in SGA known as “purple tape” that sometimes is hard to cut through-Hard to reach people and hard to get through. We want to cut as much down as we can for the rest of the student population. We know how to get things done within SGA, and SGA has been a huge part of our lives. Above all else, we care about this school…We want what is best for this school and its students.
My time spent as the co- direction of social justice allowed me to work with MSO and IBOs and The Office of Multicultural Education to establish the relationships between the multicultural groups on campus to listen and see what they need. I have met with many people from OME to see what they need. The best way to support yourself is to listen and, ‘repost, and attend events.’ I am ready to take these skills and relationships and move it to a larger level.”
“We care about the next generations of Holy Cross.”
Any final thoughts?
“We are really proud of our policies; they are well thought out and realistic. We believe in small but meaningful changes that will actually get accomplished. The Engage Summit is a project we are really proud of and will be the first major project students will see accomplished. If elected, we will be here before school starts to work on these projects and the next steps for our community.
We understand there is a disconnect between SGA and the student body. We are here for the students, whether or not you know us. We want to have these relationships, we need to have SGA have this connection to allow SGA to do their job. The SGA is here to help the student body. Very approachable and please come talk to us!”
Where and When can students vote?
Monday, March 28th at NOON on MyHC until Wed March 30th at NOON!
*Seniors CAN VOTE!*