NOW IN SESSION
The leaders of Texas A&M’s 70th session of Student Senate are redefining the ideals and culture of the historically conservative legislative body
By Emily Bost
Ja’Cory Clark, history senior, was elected as speaker and Jasmine Wang, political science junior, was elected as speaker pro tempore of the 70th session of Student Senate on March 29. Clark is the first African American to hold the office of speaker in 42 years, since Fred McClure, speaker of the 28th session, while Jasmine is the first Asian-American to hold the office of speaker pro tempore.
Together, Clark and Wang have a multitude of diverse experiences that will contribute to Senate’s student outreach and the efficiency of the legislative body, in order to produce legislation that will benefit students from every niche of campus.
“Contrary to public opinion about diversity and leadership, the greatest attributes about these two is not the fact that they’re both minorities and not the fact that they represent minority populations,” said Jonah Chen, Bush School graduate student and close friend to both Clark and Wang. “The great thing about them is that they care so much about the students and that when they go to sleep at night, they go to sleep thinking about policies, stances the administration has taken and what they can do to better supplement policy implementation.”
Clark will oversee all operations of the legislative branch of the Student Government Association, chair Senate meetings and represent Student Senate to external bodies. Wang will serve as second-in-command of the Senate, after Speaker Clark, and the legislature’s chief administrative officer.
“Ja’Cory is one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, and I’m a little biased because we are such good friends, but I have never met someone who brings such warmth into a room when they walk into it and is so passionate about doing what’s right for the students ... He brings an incredible myriad of experience that you couldn’t find anywhere else,” Wang said. “There’s no one more
qualified or more passionate about the office of the speaker.”
Clark began his time in Senate two years ago, after transferring from Stephen F. Austin State University, and has since gained experience through drafting legislation and fulfilling various leadership roles, such as ad hoc campus climate and inclusion chair.
“He went from someone who had some ideas about how to provide students with better student services all the way to becoming the speaker of the Student Senate and the only way you can do that is if you have a unitary character who has a considerable amount of integrity, honesty, respect and leadership and I believe he embodies all of those things,” Chen said.
Throughout her time in Student Senate, Wang has taken on various leadership roles and successfully passed bills and resolutions focusing on inclusion and sustainability issues. Some bills have even influenced administration to make policy changes, or implementations, on campus.
“Jasmine was a brand new senator this past year, but you wouldn’t have known it by how she carried herself and how much work she really put into the body of the senate,” said Joseph Hood, Bush School graduate student and speaker of the 69th session of Student Senate.
Combining the strengths of these two experienced forces will not only benefit the culture of the Senate, but will benefit the student body as a whole, Chen said. Both leaders are dialed into hearing the voices of the students who haven’t always been heard in student government or in the student body, Hood said.
“Their ability to be unitary characters and their ability to work well with all levels of administration, all levels of faculty and all levels of student leadership, gives them the opportunity and ability to make sure that issues get addressed, and this is
particularly important because of how large our
​
campus is,” Chen said.
The legislative process that Clark and Wang are aiming for during the 70th session involves wider campus outreach to students, with the intent to hear their experiences and desires for A&M, then turning that into practical legislation. They hope to consider the best options for all students on campus, rather than just an individual sector or group.
“It’s important for us to learn about different people and different experiences, because in a practical sense, we’re going to have to work with different people from different background,” Clark said.
Both Clark and Wang have focused their experiences in Senate around seeking out the voices that are underrepresented on campus, and will continue to do so in their new leadership roles. Their focus on diversity stemmed from the fact that it became a crucial matter that concerned a considerable amount of students, Chen said.
“Diversity has always been a great love of mine, because it’s with the empowerment of other people that we can continue to move forward as a university and as a student body. It’s those people, from those different walks of life, that bring those new perspectives to the table that allow us to really flourish and grow,” Wang said.
Wang hopes her position in Student Senate might inspire other minority students to get involved in student government, without fear of societal obstacles or norms that are put in place at the university. Representation matters to students, so when they see an Asian American and African American in positions of influence, other underrepresented students will hopefully feel inspired to get involved as well, Wang said.
“We really just want to encourage, not only minority students to feel comfortable and part of the Aggie family, but for all students to feel that they’re properly represented,” Wang said.
“It’s with the empowerment of other people that we can continue to move forward as a university and as a student body.”
-Jasmine Wang, ‘19
“It’s important for us to learn about different people and different experiences ... We’re going to have to work with different people from different backgrounds. ”
-Ja’Cory Clark, ‘18