AARON SKUBBY, Asst. News Editor—Students elected Marc Haddad ‘20 as the new Vice President for Denison Campus Governance Association (DCGA). He defeated former DCGA Finance Chair Diana Lopez ‘20, despite never before holding a position in DCGA.
Haddad is a biochemistry major from near Cleveland, Ohio who plans to attend law school after graduation. He is a captain of the rugby team, a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.
Though he has not been previously involved in DCGA, Haddad has no worries about his ability to fulfill the position of VP. In an interview with the Denisonian, Haddad explain his motivation for running. “DCGA has become insular and disconnected from the community,” he said. In regards to his limited prior experience, Haddad said that “there will be a learning curve, but it’s not rocket science.”
As he explained in his platform, Haddad wants “to get the student body more involved with decisions that are made by DCGA and administration.” Haddad proposed the addition of suggestion boxes to academic buildings as a way to enhance communication between students and DCGA.
Class of 2023 Senator Marcus Nowling expressed support for Haddad’s proposals in an email. He congratulated Haddad on being elected, and said “I totally agree with Marc’s beliefs that DCGA needs to be more open toward the student body and I hope to work alongside him in any way that he believes will increase student involvement within our government.” Nowling went on to suggest that “we should have a virtual suggestion box” so that students may “voice their concerns at any time of their choosing.”
Haddad stressed that mental health is a top priority issue for him. As stated in his platform, he “advocate[s] for the hiring of bilingual counselors at the Whistler Center” to help international students deal with the stresses that all students deal with, as well as additional difficulties adjusting to a new culture. Haddad also wrote that “The tragic events of last year had a tremendous impact on our lives, and the school has seen a shift toward helping improve the mental health of students and faculty.”
The vacancy for DCGA Vice President comes after last years Vice President Elect not returning to campus this year. Students voted on the new Vice President by an email ballot, which was open between Monday, October 28 to Friday, November 1 at 3pm. The vote was tallied and Marc Haddad was determined the winner just over an hour after voting closed.
In Spring 2019, the Denison community dealt with lots of DCGA controversy regarding issues of equity for multicultural and LGBTQ+ organizations on campus, as well as a harassment scandal regarding the initial 2019 – 2020 DCGA presidential elections.