Evan Weston, a senator for the Class of 2023, is running for treasurer in the upcoming Student Government Association election.
Weston, a business management and finance major, has been involved in SGA for the past two years. Last year, she ran and lost for a senator seat, so she decided to join SGA as a member at large, which allowed her to participate without voting rights. This fall, Weston ran for senator again and was elected.
Weston serves on SGA’s Public Relation’s Committee and was the Class of 2023 representative for SGA’s Finance Committee this year.
As a member of the Finance Committee, she has been involved in getting commuter passes and parking passes for students. She said she also played a major role in decreasing the cost of the student activities fee both last semester and this semester.
Outside of SGA, Weston is a member of the Theta Phi Alpha sorority at Suffolk, where she serves as the sisterhood chair. She also handles dance relations for Rammython, a dance marathon organization at Suffolk that raises money for Boston Children’s Hospital.
Weston’s decision to run for treasurer stems largely from her experience in the Finance Committee.
“I really feel the weight of responsibility for handling people’s tuition money, initiatives money. All the money that comes from [Finance Committee] is really directly from students’ tuition, so I think it’s really important to maximize that and make sure that students feel like they’re getting the most out of their college experience,” Weston said.
She hopes to keep the momentum that past treasurers have set into motion going.
“I feel like those who have been in treasurer positions thus far have done a really great job,” Weston said.
Weston said she would like to get more feedback from the community to see where students would like their money to be spent.
With regards to the SGA resolution passed in Spring 2019 recommending that the Suffolk University Police Department be armed, Weston said that she was not on campus yet when the decision was made, but that she believes the resolution should be revisited.
“I would honestly love to see that come back to the floor, since it’s something that a lot of students have an opinion on,” Weston said. “It should be an open discussion again.”
Weston also said that while she believes the university is trying to do its best when it comes to its COVID-19 policies, she thinks that administration could make some changes to better benefit students. She has seen students come to SGA meetings to speak with Suffolk Dean of Students Ann Coyne about letting Suffolk students visit other dorm buildings to see their friends, and said that there was a lot of discussion about mental health.
“Dean Coyne’s comment was basically, ‘We’ve done really good with COVID numbers, we don’t want to wreck things now.’ I think they’re very concerned about numbers, and not necessarily with student support,” Weston said. “They talk a lot about all these resources but sometimes, as a student, you don’t want to go talk to a counselor at [Counseling, Health and Wellness] because you’re feeling depressed that you can’t see your friends. I think it goes far greater than that.”
Weston said she thinks the administration has done a good job in trying to keep everyone safe, something that is important, but that a lot of students may be feeling very detached from the university. She also said this issue is not being talked about enough.
“I truly think that SGA is trying to be a club that is transparent and wants the best for their students. I hope that as we keep moving forward, SGA is a place that wants students’ voices to be heard,” Weston said. “I hope that, by being on E-Board, I get the opportunity to really push that.”
She urges people who have questions to come to SGA meetings and be engaged, because “change won’t happen unless people voice their concerns,” she said.
Follow Grace on Twitter @GraceM123456.
