By Paige Holland & Landon Thompson

Paige Holland is a first-year history major and Landon Thompson is a first-year agriculture major. This is their first time running for the SGA. The article below was written by Paige Holland and Landon Thompson.

When you look up the Berea College missions page, you find a statement that says: “To maintain a residential campus and to encourage in all community members a way of life characterized by mindful and sustainable living, health and wellness, zest for learning, high personal standards, and a concern for the welfare of others.” I believe that students deserve the things listed there. However, finishing my first year at Berea, I see a lack of help and support for this statement. When living in residence halls, you live with a vast group of people you’ve never met. It would help if you learned how to share bathrooms, showers, cooking areas, and a small room.

Women deal with a menstrual cycle that requires pads or tampons, which get thrown away in the bathrooms. However, a lot of the time, girls throw their feminine products on the floor, especially when the trash is full. Another example is the usage of paper towels, throwing them on the floor when the trash is full. Now, you’re probably thinking about what I will do to help, and honestly, I don’t have the perfect answer for you. There are many things that I could arrange and try to do to solve this problem. As an RA next semester, I would be more than willing to take more responsibility for keeping our living area clean. This would entail picking up the paper towels, and feminine products, wiping off water from the counters and cleaning the mirrors. FA’s are meant to clean the buildings, but sometimes jobs don’t get done, and that’s okay. But I think we can all do more to keep a safe and clean, mindful, well, and sustainable environment, as said in that quote. I also want to make a change to the hours in which you can get counseling help. As young adults find themselves, getting the support they need is crucial, but the available hours conflict with classes or work. Students can get the help they need at an available time by extending these hours or making them available on weekends.

You can vote for your favorite SGA candidates at the following link after the SGA debates at March 14th, 7:00pm conclude.