As I reflect on my first semester as LMU’s student-body president, I cannot help but be filled with gratitude thinking about what our ASLMU administration has accomplished this year. From our Fallapalooza concert that brought students together from all walks of life, to our “Let Your Vote ROAR” campaign, which engaged Lions in the 2016 Presidential election, our team has been hard at work. As we move into the spring semester we will continue to foster and represent ASLMU’s mission to celebrate diversity and ensuring all student’s voices are represented on campus.
This year we have made strides to reach out to our most marginalized student populations, such as undocumented, LGBTQ+, veteran, transfer, and commuter students. Our Senate team passed a resolution recognizing the need for an Undocumented Students Resource Center and recognized LMU Veteran Students for their service to our country.
We have also sought to celebrate our students’ diversity of thought and experience, through events like “ASLMU’s Unity March” which brought together over 100 students, staff and faculty for a moment of unity and reflection after the Presidential Election.
In order to continue this legacy of diversity and representation, we recently standardized all election campaign materials for the upcoming ASLMU Election. Students will no longer have to pay out of pocket for campaign-related expenses, and instead, each student will receive a standard amount of money to purchase materials for their campaign. We believe this change will allow students of low socioeconomic status to have a fair chance of running a successful campaign and also promote diversity in our candidate pool.
Along with these powerful initiatives, ASLMU also has some awesome events lined up for this semester. Our first major event is Presidents’ Day of Service on Friday, February 24th, from 7:45am-2pm, a day where LMU President Timothy Law Snyder and myself will be serving alongside 100 students to beautify a local elementary school in need. Also on February 24th, we will have our spring concert “After Sunset,” which will feature the Grammy nominated music group, MGMT. The event is set to take place at 6pm on Lawton Plaza! Along with these amazing events and projects, we also have First Amendment Week coming up in February, with amazing speakers and much more. Please follow ASLMU on Facebook, Instagram and LEO to learn more about these great opportunities coming up!